


John Sheppard Meets His Match

by FlyBoy



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-03
Updated: 2010-01-03
Packaged: 2017-10-05 17:39:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 39,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyBoy/pseuds/FlyBoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a routine morning in the city of Atlantis, love comes out of nowhere and bowls John Sheppard over.</p>
            </blockquote>





	John Sheppard Meets His Match

Chapter One

To the outside observer the small group of people laughing uproariously in the Gate Room that afternoon appeared to not have a care in the world. The fact that the world in question was located in a galaxy far, far, far, far from Earth didn't matter.

There was work to be done, but at the moment everyone was captivated by the tale John Sheppard was sharing. When he had a specific task and a tight timetable, Colonel John Sheppard thrived. But when the city was quiet it became entirely too difficult to procrastinate on his command paperwork, hence the story for the Gate Room personnel that afternoon. Sheppard was a man of action; if McKay had been present he would have suggested that Sheppard was more accurately an "action figure" than a figure of action.

As Sheppard neared the punch line of his story the mood was broken by the unexpected activation of the Gate in the room below. The instant the assembled crew heard the gate start to activate everyone immediately shifted into work mode. Each of the Gate Room personnel moved to their duty stations and began trying to figure out who was trying to reach Atlantis.

"Off world activation." A few seconds after the gate activated, someone shouted, "We have an IDC! It's Sergeant Bates team. They're not due to check in for five hours."

Moving to one of the computer monitors, Sheppard flicked a switch and said, "This is Atlantis, what have you got?"

"We're under attack! Lower the shield, we're need to get out of here NOW!"

"Lower the shield," Sheppard ordered.

"The shield is down, come on home."

Sheppard left the Control level and dashed down to stand next to the Gate, not knowing exactly what was happening. All he knew is that some of his people were in trouble. Getting closer to the Gate somehow made him feel that he was closer to be able to fix the problem and help his people.

To everyone's surprise, weapons fire erupted through the Gate striking the wall of the Gate Room. Across the room, personnel dropped down to avoid being hit by the unexpected blasts. Seconds later, the first of the off world team came tumbling through the Gate.

Sheppard quickly counted the number of people. After getting to three Sheppard's world was turned on end and sent tumbling.

Before he realized what was happening, another person came flying through the Gate bowling Sheppard down like a bowling ball plowing through a lane full of pins. John went tumbling to the floor so quickly that his brain didn't even have time to figure out what was happening before he found himself flat on his back. Instinctively his arms went up to try to catch and hold onto whatever had knocked him flat.

As his brain tried to catch up with the onrush of information, Sheppard found himself face-to-face with a man. A few seconds more of data bursting into the brain and he decided it was an attractive man. More time, a hot man … with incredible eyes. Sheppard was stunned to one moment be standing counting people coming through the gate and then suddenly to find himself flat on his back starring into the eyes of someone just inches from his face.

He finally recognized the man laying on top of his body but could not seem to recall the scientist's name. Their eyes locked and time seemed to freeze as John stared into the eyes of one of the newest scientists assigned to the base (also one of the most attractive). John was totally captivated by the young man's eyes. He could not recall ever seeing a pair of such intense, beautiful eyes on anyone before in his life. He always had been a sucker for blue eyes.

Sheppard's body seemed to agree. Despite the awkwardness of the situation and the way in which they had come together, John's body was reacting to the closeness and beauty of the man laying across his body. Unconsciously, his penis gave a jump and became erect as he felt the warm body of the other man hold him down to the floor.

When time started to move once again, Sheppard broke the ice, "Hi. Come here often?"

"No, first time. Seems like a nice place though," the scientist replied.

"A little crowded."

Suddenly realizing where he was, Dayton rolled off John and apologized. "I'm so sorry! Are you ok?" Dayton asked John as he simultaneously reached out his hand to help John to his feet.

"I must be getting old. Used to be I'd take a hit like that and never even notice," John commented as he slowly got to his feet, moving carefully partly to cover his erection which by that time he had willed down a bit.

The gate had shut down after the last of the off world team had made it back to Atlantis and base personnel were moving around helping the injured team members.

Major Lorne had quickly analyzed the status of the off-world personnel, focusing his attention on those who clearly needed top priority. Once the worst were handled, he turned his attention to John and Dayton. "Hey doc, you breaking the Colonel?" Lorne inquired with a smile. Something else caught his eye and he immediately turned his attention to that issue.

"I'm so sorry," Dayton repeated to John.

"You said that. I believed you the first time. I don't think we've met yet, have we?"

"No, I don't think so. Dayton."

John paused, not entirely sure what the young man with the intense blue eyes was telling him.

"Boise," John replied.

Now it was Dayton's turn to be unsure what he was hearing. A moment later he figured out the source of the confusion. "No, my name is Dayton."

"Like the city?"

"That's it. As in 'for a great time go see Dayton'."

Realizing that that might have come out as a bit more aggressive than he had intended he started to back pedal a little when John, quicker of the uptake, responded, "I'll be sure to remember that the next time I need to unwind."

The two men looked at each other for a few more seconds, each intrigued by the other but a bit uncertain as to how to proceed. "It was an advertising slogan the city used once years ago."

John nodded. "Sheppard. John. My name," John explained.

Dayton reached out his hand to shake John's hand. "Nice to meet you Sheppard John."

By that time the injured had been removed to the infirmary for post-mission care and most personnel had moved back to their regular duties. They could have been standing in Grand Central Station, though, for all the two men knew. Their handshake had ended but their hands still held firmly to one another.

"Is Dayton your first name or your last name?" John asked.

"Whatever you want it to be," Dayton replied before blushing when he realized what he had just said to the handsome soldier.

Dayton noticed that John was leaning in toward him more than he would normally expect from a stranger. A look of discomfort crossed John's face. "Do you think you could help me get to the infirmary, Dayton?" John asked.

"Of course, if you can tell me where it is. Are you hurt?"

"My back is a little unhappy. I think when I landed on the floor I pulled a muscle or something."

Dayton's face moved from his previous embarrassment to one of concern. "Would it help if you leaned on me," he asked.

John, clearly in significant discomfort, didn't respond with words but instead just put his arm around the scientist's shoulder and shared some of his weight with Dayton. "This way," he directed.

Dayton helped the injured colonel out of the gate room and down the hallway to the nearby infirmary. As the pair moved slowly to the Infirmary, John took a few moments to take in some details about his crutch. Good looking man, very handsome, even. Of course, intense blue eyes. Killer smile. Not quite as tall as Sheppard. Similar build, maybe a little heavier but all in a good way. Solid.

As they entered the Infirmary, care for the worst of the injured was the primary focus of the medical personnel, so Dayton helped John to an open gurney where he helped him to lie down, flat on his back. Unwilling to let go, Dayton's hands stayed on John even after he got him situated on the gurney. He leaned over and asked, "Is that any better." His face was etched with worry and concern.

John looked up into those delightful eyes once again and quietly said, "Much better. Thanks."

Dr. Beckett, noticing his friend unexpectedly on a gurney, came over as soon as he finished stitching up one of the off world injuries. "Colonel, are you ok? I didn't realize you had gone off world as well. You weren't on the schedule for an off world mission today."

"Never left Atlantis today, Doc," he answered. "Just had a little encounter with an unidentified flying object.

Dayton responded with mock outrage, "Hey, I identified myself!"

"Only after you had tackled me! You would have admired his technique, doc. He got a good bit of momentum going a few million light years from here and I sort of got in the way before he landed."

"He broke my fall, doctor. I just hope I didn't break him! I came through the gate with such force I could have broken my neck if he hadn't been there to cushion my fall."

"Remind me we need to put padding in the Gate Room for the new guys,"  
Sheppard joked with Beckett.

"Let's see how bad it is," Beckett commented as he gently probed John's back. The usually stoic Sheppard clenched his teeth and grimaced in pain, which did not escape the watchful eye of the chief mission physician.

"Ok, let's get some scans and see what we're dealing with here. And you, lad, are you injured?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Well, let's get you checked out anyway. Nurse," Beckett directed, "please check out this young man and get me someone to help move the Colonel into the scanner.

The infirmary became a whirl of activity but Dayton was unable to see everything that was happening since he was immediately tended to by one of Becket's assistants. Dayton was given a thorough exam and a clean bill of health. He was reluctant, however, to leave without knowing how Sheppard was doing. He asked a nurse for some information but was told that it could be awhile before they knew. Her advice was for him to go to his quarters, shower, and get some clean clothes, maybe even something as radical as something to eat.

As he exited the infirmary and made his way to his quarters he began to realize how very, very tired he was from his day's adventures. The adrenaline rush of their near escape on the planet followed by his close encounter with John Sheppard were starting to catch up with him. Not to mention the fact that all of this was happening in a different galaxy! That fact alone was pretty darned awesome.

After getting lost only twice Dayton managed to find his quarters. Once inside his room he walked towards the bathroom, shedding his dirty clothes as he moved. He headed straight for the shower and stepped in, letting the hot water wash over his tired body. Had he still been Earth-side his hot water heater would have run out of hot water but Atlantis didn't seem to suffer from those short comings. After twenty minutes, when his skin was threatening to wrinkle permanently, he reluctantly stepped out and dried himself off with one of his bath towels.

Without bothering to dig for clean clothes Dayton stepped to one of his favorite parts of Atlantis – his own private balcony! The Ancients had certainly seemed to appreciate the beauty of nature and the great outdoors. They had made easy access to the outside such a key part of the architecture of the city. Throughout the city there were gigantic windows and countless door ways to decks and balconies. One did not experience claustrophobia in this city because it was designed to merge the indoors and outdoors in such an elegant and easy fashion.

Stepping outside Dayton let the setting sun wash over his body. He stood there, closed his eyes, and let his head fall backwards so he could fully bask in the closing light of the day. One thing he still had trouble adapting to was the abrupt change in times between the different worlds in the gate system. They had left Atlantis in the morning and arrived on the destination world moments later in late afternoon. The attack which forced their retreat to Atlantis had occurred in the middle of the evening, long after the sun had set. And here he was back in sunlight on the same day. His internal body clock was so confused.

His eyes opened and he tried to take in some of the majesty before him. The sky was a crystal clear deep blue without a cloud in sight. The ocean was a different shade of blue with just enough movement on the water to create small whitecaps. The portions of the city that he could see were magnificent. Soaring spires of towers, wide open flat areas leading to the different piers, and many structures whose purpose he could not begin to guess.

He finally pulled his thoughts back to the more immediate situation he realized that he was absolutely ravenously hungry. Reluctantly he returned to his room, pulled some clean clothes from his dresser, and he re-dressed so he could go to the Mess Hall for dinner.

For the first time since his arrival, he did not get lost getting from his quarters to the Mess Hall which gave him his first bit of pleasure on an otherwise weird day.

Since it was prime time, the Mess Hall was filled with people enjoying dinner and catching up with friends. The sound of numerous animated conversations was somehow soothing and a bit depressing all at the same time. Soothing because it was so much a part of human nature to enjoy meals together, but also a bit depressing because he really didn't know many people here yet.

Going through the line he got his food and made his way to an open table near one of the floor-to-ceiling windows. His gaze naturally gravitated to the windows and the setting sun as he sat quietly eating his dinner. His attention focused on the beautiful view, he did not realize he had a visitor until he heard a female voice ask, "May I join you?"

Looking up, Dayton's eyes took in a beautiful young woman he had seen once or twice around the city. "Certainly, please," he responded.

"We have not met yet. I am Teyla Emagen," she said by way of introduction as she extended her hand.

"I'm Dayton," he replied, taking her hand. She pulled out the chair opposite his and sat down. He noticed that she did not have food but did have a beautiful, hand-painted mug with what looked like tea.

"May I get you something to eat?" he asked.

"Thank you, but I have already eaten," she replied with a smile. "I just wanted to introduce myself and say hello. You are a relatively recent arrival from Earth?"

"Yes, I came in on the last run of the Daedelus."

Sipping her tea, she asked, "And what do you think of Atlantis so far?"

With a smile and a sigh he answered, "It is the most beautiful place I think I've ever seen in my life. To imagine that this is what it looks like after spending 10,000 years at the bottom of the ocean and after surviving countless assaults over the years. It truly is magnificent."

Smiling in return, Teyla agreed. "The Ancients have left an incredible legacy."

"Excuse my ignorance – I'm so new here – but what do you do here in Atlantis?"

"I'm a member of Colonel Sheppard's team and work with him, Dr. McKay, and Ronon Dex in the fight against the Wraith, the Replicators, and any other threat to the people of this galaxy."

"As a resident of this galaxy, even though a new one, thank you!"

The two, though barely acquainted, had settled into a rapport that they each found comfortable.

"I 'met' Colonel Sheppard this afternoon when I accidentally fell into him as I came through the gate," Dayton informed Teyla.

Nodding her head, Teyla explained that she had heard of their 'meeting.'

"I hope he's ok. When I finish dinner I want to go by the infirmary and see how he's doing."

Scoring huge points on Teyla's loyalty meter, Dayton earned a hug smile from his new friend. "I think he would like that. When you go to visit him, perhaps you could take him a cup of tea? He is exceptionally fond of the local Athosian brew that they serve here."

"I'll do that. Thank you."

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Dayton. Welcome to Atlantis. Please enjoy your evening," Teyla said as she stood and left the table.

Dayton finished his dinner, and then, mindful of Teyla's advice, got a cup of the local tea in a Styrofoam cup for the Colonel. Making his way to the infirmary he found the place much quieter than it had been earlier in the day. Only one patient was present and the lights were turned a bit lower than earlier. John Sheppard appeared to be asleep when Dayton entered but was actually aware of his guest's arrival.

"Thank God," he said. "I was afraid I was going to go nuts laying here. Talk to me, entertain me, tell me a story, do a dance, pleeease distract me!" he implored. Those big, sad puppy dog eyes looked up, making Dayton's heart skip a beat.

"I brought you some tea," he offered, holding out the cup.

"I love the local tea. Hey, wait a minute, you're the new guy, how did you know I like the local tea?"

"Advice from a new friend."

"Great. But I can't sit up to drink it. Do you think you could see if they have a straw around here?"

"No need for that – I brought one!"

"Wise man!" the colonel responded admiringly as a smiling Dayton opened and inserted the straw.

Pleased with remembering this important detail, Dayton held the cut up so that Sheppard could get the straw into his mouth. "Good. Thanks."

"So, how are you feeling?"

"Doc says I'll live, but I'll be moving like an old man for a few days. Nothing is broken but I pulled a muscle and possibly cracked a rib. They gave me a shot to relax my muscles and deaden the pain, and I give it my mark of approval – I'm quite relaxed."

"I'm so sorry about tackling you this afternoon. Not a good way to make a first impression."

"But I'll guarantee that I'll never forget your name!" Sheppard responded. "I'll be released in the morning. Once I get a little more steady on my feet, how about we meet for lunch or dinner and have a more traditional get acquainted session?"

"Deal," Dayton responded. "I'll look forward to it. And I'll maybe feel a little less guilty by then."

"Stop worrying. Forget about it. This is the Pegasus Galaxy – these things happen all the time."

"So me flying through the Gate is not the most unusual thing you've ever seen?"

"Not by a long shot," Sheppard explained to a dubious scientist.

"Well, when we get together you'll have to tell me all about some of those episodes. Maybe it'll help me feel a little less guilty."

"I see that you are going to be a stubborn one. Well, I like a challenge!"

"You get some rest. I'm going to go do the same. I'll see you tomorrow. Please, please, please, if you need anything during the night or in the morning, please call me.

"Oh, a guilty conscience. A more evil man could take great advantage of such a thing!" Sheppard commented.

"Good night, Colonel."

As Dayton left the Infirmary he passed Major Lorne just entering. "How's our patient this evening," he asked as they passed.

"He's mellow – the wonders of modern pharmaceuticals."

Lorne chuckled and wished Dayton good night. He pulled up a chair next to the Colonel's bed. "So, I see the star of the Atlantis football team just leaving. What do you think of him?"

"He seems like a nice guy. Sure packs one hell of a punch when he takes someone down, though. Now I know what the Wicked Witch of the West felt like when Dorothy's house landed on her!"

"Did he break anything?"

"Nah, just pulled some muscles and barely cracked a rib. I must be getting old – this would never have phased me a few years back. Can you cover for me for a couple of days while I'm laid up?"

"Of course, sir. Don't I always?"

"Yes, you are a prince among men. What would I do without you?" Sheppard quipped.

"I ask myself that every day, sir."

There was a brief lull in the conversation. Sheppard, even in his mildly mellow state, noticed that something was on Lorne's mind. "What's on your mind? I can see the wheels turning in there."

With noticeable hesitancy, Lorne asked a question he'd been rehearsing in his mind ever since the incident in the Gate Room earlier in the afternoon. "So, what do you think of Dayton?"

"Like I said, he seems like a nice guy." Sheppard studied his friend's face for a moment. "Yeah, what's up, Lorne? Spill it."

"Oh, nothing, really. I just noticed in the Gate Room earlier that you seemed quite taken with him."

"I was tackled by him. I had a lap full of scientist. What do you mean?"

While studying his shoes in great deal, Lorne continued slowly, "Oh, it's just that I noticed you were really 'impressed' with him."

"Go on," Sheppard urged. "What?"

"How to say this? Um. Let's just say that I noticed that the little Colonel saluted."

"What?" Sheppard asked. Then he recalled his erection when the young man with the gorgeous blue eyes was inches from his face. He blushed several shades of red and tried to sink down into the bed while retaining his composure. "I don't know what you're talking about, Lorne."

Tired of playing games, Lorne plowed ahead. "He got you excited, John. Admit it. You're human, just like the rest of us. You have needs like everyone else. I've worried for awhile that you didn't have anyone. We've been here for several years and in that time a lot of people on this expedition have paired off to ... help one another through the trials of life in another galaxy. But you've not had anyone. I'm pleased to see that there might be hope for you yet." Lorne gave his boss a playful smile.

"Oh, God. I cannot believe that we're having this conversation. Where are the Wraith when you need them?"

"They're all busy. All you've got is me, and I so love my job! Oh, and by the way, 'Major Lorne' is busy, so you'll have to make do with 'Evan' for this conversation."

Sheppard smiled shyly and was silent for a moment before finally, hesitantly asking, "So, you're ok with this?"

"Better than ok! I'm happy. Ecstatic! Gleeful."

"Yea, Yea, I get the picture." A brief pause, and then a quiet, "Thank you." Another brief pause, a big sigh, and then Sheppard explained, "I've spent my entire life hiding that part of my life – you tell anyone and I'll personally chase you down and kick your butt all the way back to the Milky Way!"

Lorne leaned toward the bed and placed his head close to John's before whispering, "Your secret is safe with me. You're my friend. Please accept that I'm happy for you."

"I don't even know the guy. We just 'met' this afternoon. There probably isn't anything to it. Just an overactive libido taking charge at an incredibly inappropriate moment. Oh, God, I hope no one else saw!"

"The Gate Room was really crazy just then. I don't think anyone else saw."

"You did!"

"Well, I pay attention to details, especially when my colonel has a lapful of scientist who came flying through the gate like a projectile."

The two chuckled together, chatted a bit about the other activities that Sheppard had missed. Lorne decided not to overtax the poor man with too many things. "I think I'll call it a night and let you get some rest. Sleep well, John."

"You, too, and thanks again, for, you know..."

As Lorne left, the quiet of the Infirmary and his immobility gave Sheppard no alternative but to think about the events of the afternoon. He had been as surprised as Lorne that his dick decided to respond with such gusto when Dayton was laying on top of him in the Gate Room. I can't believe it, he thought. I've spent decades keeping this under control, and suddenly in one afternoon I lose it in such a spectacular fashion. He groaned quietly. A passing nurse noticed and asked, "Are you feeling more pain? Would you like me to get the doctor?"

"No, thanks, I'm fine. Just frustrated. Thanks," Sheppard responded.

As she wandered on to continue her work, Sheppard's mind raced back to the afternoon. What am I gonna do, he wondered. I'm not even sure I remember what to do with another guy! His penis disagreed and gave a twitch. Yea, Yea, you stay out of this, he thought. You're the one that got me into trouble in the first place. Sheppard froze and thought to himself, "Oh, God! No! He had to feel it! He knew I was hard! Maybe the floor should just open up now and swallow me." He continued to berate himself for awhile before finally falling to sleep. That night his unconscious mind worked very hard to give him a refresher course in what to do with another man.

 

Chapter Two

When Sheppard awoke in the morning, the only thing he wanted was to get out of the very public bed in the Infirmary and get to the peace and quiet of his own quarters for some quality "alone" time. As he was stiffly getting out of bed and into his clothes, Sheppard was surprised to see his young friend once again. "You're in here almost as much as I am!" he joked.

"Just checking up on my handiwork. Are they springing you from this joint?"

"Whether or not they approve, I am leaving!" Sheppard responded with great conviction.

"Want some company getting home?"

"Thanks, but I think I can make it."

"I insist. Every time I put someone in the hospital, I always insist on seeing them safely home the next morning."

Seeing that it was a losing battle, Sheppard relented and agreed. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was actually a little unsteady and very sore. Having company would be good.

"Ok." Sheppard stood very stiffly and started slowly making his way to the door to leave.

"Do you need to 'check out' or anything before we leave?"

"You're here on a pass – don't push it!" Sheppard joked.

The two walked slowly to the nearest transporter and made their way to Sheppard's quarters. The city, always tuned in to her favorite resident, opened the door to his quarters as Sheppard approached, impressing his young companion. Seeing the look on Dayton's face he explained, "What? She likes me!"

"She?"

"Atlantis. The city."

"The city has a gender?"

"Yes."

Sheppard thought Dayton would leave him at the door, but without asking he entered with Sheppard and directed him to the bed. When Sheppard hesitated, Dayton urged him on. "Come on, get out of those clothes and get into that bed!"

"My, my, aren't we pushy this morning! And we haven't even been formally introduced yet."

Dayton blushed but pushed ahead. "Come on, you heard me. Bed! Now!"

"Yes, mother," Sheppard responded jokingly while unbuttoning his shirt. He sat on his bed and thought for a moment about how in the world he was going to lean over to untie his boot laces and get them off. Before he could finish the thought, however, Dayton had knelt down on the floor at Sheppard's feet and was unlacing his boots. A bit uncomfortably, Sheppard noted, "Wow – I could get used to this!"

He unlaced the left boot and carefully removed it from Sheppard's foot before turning to the other boot. When both were removed, Dayton looked up at John and directed, "That's done. Now, I want you in that bed, Mister! Now!"

A look of mock indignation passed over Sheppard's face. "My, my, pushy! With demands like that, don't you think you should buy me a drink first?"

"Sure, the next time I see the waiter pass by I'll get right on that. Until he shows up, though, I want you in that bed now! Move it, Mister, that's an order!"

"Yes, sir!" Sheppard responded as he leaned back onto his pillow as Dayton lifted his legs up onto the bed. The usually stubborn Sheppard was acting surprisingly meek under the strong direction of his newfound friend.

"There, was that so hard?"

"No, sir. Anything you say, sir."

"And you remember that, airman!" Dayton, no longer able to hold his face in a stern frown, burst out in laughter. "God, I love it! The power! I've never known such power! I liiiiiike it!"

"Just what I need! Another power-hungry boss." Sheppard joined in the laugh. "Please don't me laugh, it hurts too much."

The laughter slowed to a mild chuckle and big smiles on both men's faces.

"Ok. Deal ... but only because I've got you where I want you. Now, while you STAY THERE and stop straining your back, I'm going to the Mess Hall to get some food for you. Any requests?"

"I'd like a 3-egg omelet, not overcooked, with cheddar cheese, mushrooms and bacon. On the side I'll have ..."

"Yeah, yeah, you'll take what I bring ya'. Remember, stay put! When I get back I want to find you right where I left you!"

Sheppard raised his arm and gave a mock salute. Dayton left Sheppard's quarters with a quick look over his shoulder. The smile on his face met an equal smile on Sheppard's face. "Be right back."

"Yes, sir!"

Sensing the departure of Dayton, Atlantis automatically closed the door to Sheppard's quarters. The silence of his quarters gave him a moment to reflect on what had just happened. Sheppard thought to himself, "What the hell just happened here? Who the hell are you?" Sheppard could not remember the last time he had so meekly and readily obeyed orders from a non-military stranger. Sheppard was usually the one in control and wasn't comfortable unless he was the one in charge. But out of the blue the tables had been turned. Basically a complete stranger had just burst into his life and tossed everything up in the air.

Sheppard couldn't decide if his newest friend was really coming onto him super strongly, or if Sheppard was just super horny and was allowing his dick to do his thinking. Sheppard typically held himself to high standards, never allowing his personal feelings or urges to play any role in his conduct. His job was more than just a job – people lived or died based on what he did. Such consequences didn't allow any room for error caused by personal needs or urges. So, where the hell had all of this come from, he wondered to himself.

As his mind continued to try to reach some conclusion about what was happening, Sheppard dozed off and was lightly sleeping when his door opened and Dayton entered his quarters with a tray loaded down with enough food to feed 10 men.

"I'm not THAT hungry, so I've got to ask, who else have you invited to this party?" Sheppard asked.

"Just you. I didn't know what you liked – and they didn't have any cheese and bacon omelets – so I got one of everything so you could have some choices," Dayton explained earnestly and seriously.

He put the tray down and moved a small table up to the side of Sheppard's bed so that he could put the food within easy reach.

Looking down at his patient, Dayton suddenly realized that Sheppard was still dressed in his BDUs.

"That doesn't look very comfortable. Let's get those pants off you. Do you have something like a pair of sweat pants around here?"

"Dresser, second drawer." Sheppard pointed to his left.

Dayton crossed the room and opened the second drawer of the dresser, finding a pair of well-worn but clean sweat pants. He pulled the sweats from the dresser, reclosed the drawer, and returned to the bed.

"So, do you want to do this or do you want me to do this?"

"I think I can handle it," Sheppard responded as he started to swing his legs back over the side of the bed. Dayton reached down and helped Sheppard rise to his feet. Reaching down, Sheppard unbuckled his belt. Stepping out of his pants, Dayton looked down and issued another order, "Boxers too."

"Yes, mother," Sheppard meekly responded as he dropped his boxers and took the pair of sweat pants from Dayton's hand. Suddenly realizing that Sheppard couldn't lean over to put on the sweats, Dayton took the sweat pants back from Sheppard and dropped back to his knees in front of Sheppard. Pushing the pants and boxers over Sheppard's feet, Dayton threaded the sweats onto his legs one by one. As he finished threading Sheppard's right foot in the sweat pants, Dayton looked up to discover that he was exactly in front of Sheppard's crotch and that Sheppard's dick was once again showing interest.

Sheppard blushed a red shade of red and quickly reached around to grab a pillow from his bed to hold in front of his crotch. "Oh, sweet Jesus!" Sheppard muttered. "I'm so sorry. I don't know where that came from."

Dayton looked up so that his eyes met Sheppard's eyes; his face was a complete study in neutrality. Sheppard quickly made a mental note to never play poker with this man since he was absolutely, completely unable to read what was going on behind those eyes.

The next five seconds seemed to last for hours. The two sets of eyes remained locked on one another, and if possible, Sheppard's blush deepened.

While Sheppard considered the possibility of melting into the floor, Dayton broke the silence. "Now, I ask you: How am I going to get your sweat pants around that pillow?" His neutral expression never faltered.

Sheppard stood, the pillow in one hand with his mouth hanging open, for once in his life not having a witty come back to what he had just heard.

"Close your mouth Sheppard John before something flies in there!" He reached down and started pulling the sweat pants up Sheppard's legs to the point where Sheppard could reach down and take over the operation. Somehow he managed to simultaneously pull up his pants and remove the pillow. Still somewhat flustered by the entire experience, Sheppard sat back down onto his bed and moved his pillow back to support him so he could sit up enough to eat his food.

Again, the ever witty Sheppard drew a complete blank so it fell to Dayton to break the tension. "So, are you going to eat this before lunch gets here or not?"

Staring at the man, Sheppard said, "Who ARE you?"

"My name is Dayton. Remember? We met in the Gate Room yesterday when ..."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember who you are!"

"Then why did you ask me who I am?"

Feeling completely out of his element and out of control, Sheppard continued staring at this man standing in front of him who was such a complete mystery. Not having a clue what else to say, Sheppard said, "Remind me never to play poker with you! I can't read you at all."

Dayton's neutral expression melted into a big smile. "But of course, I AM the one in charge here, aren't I? Now eat your breakfast."

Not knowing what else to do, Sheppard looked at the heavily laden tray Dayton had placed beside the bed and selected one of the local Athosian apple-like things he had grown to enjoy. Except for the yellow flesh it was basically sort of, kind of like an apple. Biting into the fruit Sheppard's eyes never left Dayton, giving him a look between admiration and question.

"So, I say again, who are you? And for that matter, what have you done to me? I'm Mister Confidence. I have an answer for everything and everyone. I'm not used to being at a loss for words."

Crossing his arms, Dayton broke into a smile. "I am the great and mighty Oz!"

"Well, hi there, Oz, nice to meet you." Sheppard took another bite out of almost apple. Dayton pulled a chair from Sheppard's desk to sit near the bed.

"Is that thing any good?" he asked.

"Not bad, really. It's sort of, kind of, almost like an apple ... but not quite. Want a bite?" he asked holding the apple-thing up for Dayton.

"Sure," he responded taking the fruit from Sheppard's hand and taking a bite. "Humm. Not bad, unless you're expecting an apple, in which case you'd be seriously disappointed." He handed the fruit back to Sheppard who took another bite and smiled.

"So, about what happened earlier, I'm really sorry."

"No need to be. You're a man – these things happen." Pausing, with a hint of a smile appearing on his face, Dayton continued, "And, as I recall, it wasn't the first time it's happened."

Sheppard felt like all the blood was draining from his face. Momentarily he seemed to forget how to breathe. "Huh?" he said, secretly thinking, "Oh please, oh please, oh please – he didn't feel that back in the gate room! Oh please, no, oh please, oh please ..."

Leaning forward slightly as he smiled at Sheppard. "Back in the gate room, I noticed that Little Sheppard poked his head up when we first met."

"Jessh. First of all, can we please NOT call him 'Little Sheppard'?" Thinking quickly, Sheppard remembered how Lorne had called it the 'Little Colonel.'

"If we have to call him anything, I think I'd prefer Lorne's term, the 'Little Colonel'. No, scratch that, I don't like this 'little' anything! How about 'Big John' or 'Big Sheppard' ... or maybe the 'Major General.'"

"Pretty cocky, so to speak, aren't you?"

"Now that's just bad!" Sheppard smirked.

Not to be outdone, Dayton smacked it right back to Sheppard. "Personally, I'd need to gather some more data before I assign such grand and glorious descriptive terminology."

Eyes widening, Sheppard finally realized that it was hopeless – he had met his match. The cause was lost and Little Sheppard had won, hands down, or rather heads up. With a wistful look in his eyes and a sad puppy dog look on his face, Sheppard looked up at Dayton and gave up any pretense of denying reality. "You name the time and place and you can gather all the data you want!" he said quietly. "I'm a firm believer in the advancement of science."

"Yeah, you're firm all right!"

"Don't you have a job? Don't you have work to do? Isn't there someone else in need of harassment somewhere on this base? Somewhere in this vast galaxy? I can make a few calls!"

"Throwing me out, are you? Well, when you get hungry you'll regret this move."

"With the amount of food you brought me for breakfast I'm safe for at least a week. Thank you, by the way. I appreciate the help getting here, and I appreciate you getting food for me. And you know, ..., for not insisting on that 'Little Sheppard' thing."

"Anytime."

"Promises, promises."

"Well, it will have to be promises for now since I do in fact have to get to work or they're going to report me AWOL and send out search parties. Do you need anything before I go?"

"No, I'm good. And thanks again – for everything."

"Ok. Get some rest. And if you need anything please radio me!?! I'll only a call away."

Heading to the door, Dayton suddenly stopped, turned back to look at Sheppard, and returned to Sheppard's side. Leaning over, he raised his hands to each side of Sheppard's face and lowed his head toward Sheppard's. Eyes wide open and filled with anticipation, delight, and a bunch of other emotions, their lips came together in a kiss. When Dayton stood up and took a step back, Sheppard wistfully said, "You sure do move slow, don't you?"

"I like to keep everyone guessing." Turning back to the door he ordered, "Get some rest. I'll be back with lunch." As he exited, Sheppard realized his world was now officially, totally, completely, absolutely turned inside out and upside down.

Smiling and gently shaking his head, he muttered, "Who was that masked man that just dropped from the sky and saved the day?" Leaning back on his pillow he closed his eyes and felt wrapped in a warmth and comfort he had not known in a long, long time.

 

Chapter Three

 

Before it seemed remotely possible, the morning was gone and afternoon had arrived. Completely unaccustomed to a life of leisure and spending so much time in bed, Sheppard was beginning to get restless when the door to his quarters quietly opened at about 12:30 to admit his own little ray of sunshine bearing yet another tray filled to overflowing with food.

"Lunch is served."

"They're going to have to schedule another Daedeleus run to replace all the food you've brought to me. Either that or the population of some small village somewhere on the mainland is going to go hungry this winter."

"You're welcome."

"Oh, yeah, thanks."

"You're welcome."

"I'm starting to go stir crazy here. Distract me, please!"

"Where are some of those wonderful modern American pharmaceuticals to make you sleepy when we need them?"

"Humh. Well, I used to like you. Now I'm not so sure. Not when I hear that you want to drug me into submission and turn me into some drooling, malleable patient."

"From what I've heard you don't submit to just about anything." Stepping away from the bed long enough to move the breakfast tray and replace it with the lunch tray, he added, "But then you hadn't met me yet."

"Now it's my turn to use your line: awfully sure of yourself, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am! If I don't do it, who else is going to?"

"My God, there is certainly no lack of confidence in this room! Or testosterone, for that matter."

Dayton's eyes moved from Sheppard to the windows above Sheppard's bed. Like his own, Sheppard's quarters had a balcony. Stepping over to the doorway that led to the balcony, Dayton opened the door to admit the warm ocean breeze. Looking through the doorway he saw that Sheppard's balcony was substantially bigger than his own. This one included a table, a couple of chairs, and what passed as a chaise lounge in ancient terms. Wheels were turning quickly in Dayton's head as he felt the warm sun of another beautiful, cloud-free day gently warm his face.

Turning back to Sheppard he decided on a different course of action. "So, you're bored, are you? Well, how about a field trip?"

"Sure, what you got in mind?"

"Let's get you moved outside. It's too nice to be stuck inside all day. You've got a table, some chairs, and something like a chaise lounge out there. I've ordered sun for the day, so let's get out there and eat lunch in the great outdoors."

"Deal," Sheppard responded as he slowly sat up and swung his legs over the side of his bed. Before his feet hit the ground, though, his personal assistant was at his side.

"Easy now, put your weight on me when you need to. Don't strain your back." Following orders, Sheppard rose carefully and the two made their way the short distance to the balcony. Once there Sheppard sat in one of the chairs at the table while Dayton returned to the room to retrieve the lunch tray.

Removing the lids from the tray he showed Sheppard what he brought for lunch. With all the food options, the first thing Sheppard's eye fell upon was a mug with what looked like his Athosian tea. Opening his eyes wider and staring, Sheppard looked up to Dayton with what he hoped was his most angelic look. All he needed to add was a discrete batting of his eye lashes to make the picture complete.

Taking all of this in, Dayton maintained his usual poker face. "Yes? May I help you with something?"

"Is that?"

"Why look at that, they sent a mug of your favorite tea! How nice and friendly those Mess Hall folks are!" He handed the mug to Sheppard who took it in both hands and gently inhaled the familiar aroma. His eyes closed and a smile broke out broadly on his face as all of this was taking place. Dayton smiled quietly to himself, pleased to see such a happy look appear on Sheppard's face.

When Sheppard's attention returned, Dayton handed him a fork and pushed a plate of the fresh daily pasta toward him. Behind that he nudged another small plate with a fresh salad made with a variety of local Athosian greens.

Quite impressed with the attention he was receiving from the young scientist, Sheppard quiet said, "I'm not used to this type of attention."

"Enjoy it while you've got it. Once you're healed and back on your feet this private waiter service ends. But I'd be pleased to join you for dinner in the Mess Hall if you'd like."

"Well, I appreciate your help. Being sidelined with an injury like this is definitely not something I take to easily. I basically feel fine ... until I try to move."

"I don't know you at all well yet, John, but from what I've heard this is the best way to get to know you. Rumor has it that usually you're hard to keep up with because you're here, there and everywhere."

"This is a big city and we've got a lot of people. Mine is definitely not a desk job," Sheppard answered between bites of his pasta. Looking at the salad, he said, "The Mess Hall makes this great balsamic-like salad dressing ..."

"Like this one?" Dayton answered with a smile as he pushed a little bowl of salad dressing toward Sheppard.

Once again Sheppard's mouth fell open with a look of astonishment. He set his fork down on the table and looked at Dayton seriously. "The Mess Hall must have 20 different salad dressings. How in the world did you figure out that I like this one?"

"I'm a scientist. I gather data in order to make decisions."

"Who knows which salad dressing I like!? I don't remember ever telling anyone about this!"

"You may not tell anyone, but people notice details. Your friends are very observant. They know what makes you happy."

"Wow. I had no idea." Sheppard poured some of the dressing over his greens and then picked up his fork for a bite. "Yummmm. I really like that!"

"Perhaps your friends notice what makes you purr like a kitten."

"I do many things, but I do NOT purr like a kitten!"

"Sure."

Sheppard scowled and looked down as he kept eating. There was a lull in the conversation as Sheppard ate and Dayton quietly looked out over the railing of the balcony. His eyes took in the city skyline from a different perspective than he had from his own quarters. Once again the day was absolutely beautiful. There was not a cloud in the crystal clear blue sky. A very light breeze moved the air gently making the ocean relatively calm.

Off to the right Dayton noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Pointing toward what looked like a sleek, flying box, he asked, "What in the world is that?"

Looking up from his lunch and following the direction of Dayton's pointing finger he saw a jumper that had apparently just launched from the city heading toward the mainland a couple of hundred miles away. "Jumper. You've never seen one?"

"Never seen one. I've only been here for a short time, although it sure feels like longer than that."

"We'll have to get you onto a jumper once I'm back on my feet."

Sheppard ate more of his lunch but couldn't finish all of the food available. When lunch was finished Dayton stacked the dishes on the tray and returned it inside the room. He returned to the balcony carrying another small plate. John's eyes fell on the object as it was placed on the table in front of him. "You've got to be kidding me! The Mess Hall never has these! This is my favorite dessert! How in the world did you get your hands on these?"

The plate in front of Sheppard contained a small pile of classic and vanilla Oreo cookies, the favorite sweet treat of countless Americans. Sheppard popped one of the cookies into his mouth and savored the taste. "God, these are good. How did you know?"

"Scientist. Remember? That plus I just came from Earth and had a small supply for personal use. I like them, too."

"Want one?" Sheppard offered, secretly hoping that Dayton would not take him up on his offer.

Clearly reading Sheppard's face, the face that so many found mysterious and unfathomable, Dayton said, "No, thank you. They're for you. Enjoy!"

"Oh, I will, have no fear."

The only sound that followed for the next few minutes was the sound of cookies crunching as Sheppard ate every cookie on the plate. For a few minutes Dayton was concerned that Sheppard was going to lick the crumbs off the plate. In the end, though, Sheppard used his finger and tongue to discretely pick up any errant crumbs so that not one bit went to waste.

"Happy?"

"Yes, I am. Oreos are better than sex. Or at least as good. Thank you."

The two sat quietly and let the sun warm them gently.

"Well, I suppose I should get back to work. And get some of these dishes back to the Mess Hall so that they have enough plates to feed the Marines this evening."

Sheppard chuckled.

Dayton ducked back inside to arrange the dirty dishes onto one tray for easy transport back to the Mess Hall. He returned to the balcony with a glass of water and held out his other hand to Sheppard. "Here. Doctor's orders. Take it now."

Scrunching up his face, Sheppard muttered, "I hate those pills. They make me groggy."

"That's not a bad thing. Your body needs unstressed time to heal." Sheppard swallowed the pill and handed the glass back to Dayton who added it to the other dirty dishes.

"Let's get you back to bed." Sheppard wanted to argue but quietly started to try to get up out of the chair. Dayton reached down and helped Sheppard to his feet. They moved slowly back inside.

"I should make a detour on the way," Sheppard suggested, pointing toward what Dayton assumed was the bathroom.

"Need any help?" Dayton asked.

Smiling, Sheppard responded, "I've done this before. I think I can handle it."

"Are you sure? I think I could 'handle it' too."

Sheppard once again blushed. "I don't know how I've kept my virtue intact as long as I have with you around. You, wait here. Me, go handle it. Understand?"

"Ok."

A moment later Sheppard shuffled back to the bedroom door and Dayton helped him toward the bed. Sheppard noted that his previously rumpled bed was all carefully remade and the pillow fluffed up to its full size.

"When did you do that?" Sheppard asked admiringly.

"When you weren't looking."

"I see," Sheppard responded as he sat down. He leaned back onto the pillow and admitted to himself that this really did feel better.

"Get some rest, John. I'll be back later this afternoon."

"I might be here. I might go out for a run."

"Right. See you later this afternoon." Dayton left the room, taking the tray of dishes with him. Sheppard relaxed into the comfortable bed and tried to figure out who his mystery colleague was. Out of the blue this attractive young man had come into his life and nothing had been the same since. Sheppard smiled but before long the smile turned into a frustrated frown.

"I cannot do this, I cannot do this. This cannot happen. Get it under control, Sheppard," he ordered himself. Frustrated, he picked up a paperback book laying next to his bed and made a half-hearted attempt to read. After a few pages the book dropped to his chest and his eyes dropped closed, sleep once again claiming him.

 

Chapter Four

When Sheppard opened his eyes later that afternoon he was surprised to find a fresh mug of his favorite tea sitting on the nightstand beside his bed. The mug was still relatively warm so Sheppard figured his mystery benefactor had been here relatively recently.

Sighing, Sheppard took a sip of the tea, reflecting that he was going to miss this attention. But this really couldn't continue. Sheppard told himself that he had let it go too far already. Shaking his head, he tried to convince himself that no matter how difficult, he really had to take the upper hand in this experience.

An hour later the door to his quarters quietly slid open and his benefactor re-entered his room, once again carrying a tray from the Mess Hall. Despite his best intentions to remain stern, Sheppard found himself smiling.

"Good evening, sir. Welcome to Cafe Sheppard. Will you be joining us for dinner this evening?"

"Yes, please, table for one."

"Right this way, please." Dayton placed the tray on Sheppard's desk and pulled out the chair for Sheppard. After bowing to Sheppard in good high "waiter" fashion, Dayton stepped over to the bed to help Sheppard to his feet.

Feeling a little unsteady on his feet after spending so many hours flat on his back, Sheppard wobbled a little. "Oh, yeah, I've got feet down there somewhere. Come on guys, work with me," he ordered, looking down at his feet.

Dayton directed Sheppard to the desk chair where he dropped heavily to the seat. Rubbing his face and running his hands up through his hair, Sheppard tried to wipe away the sleep and fatigue that seemed to be his constant companion these last few days. "I hate being sick," he muttered to no one in particular.

"No one likes being sick," his guest responded as he lifted lids from a variety of plates.

The smell of his dinner perked Sheppard up a bit from the funk he had fallen into during the afternoon. "Um, smells good."

"I should hope so, since I spent all afternoon cooking."

"Somehow I doubt that. I've seen the guys who work in the Mess Hall – they don't let anyone in their kitchen. And I doubt that even you could charm your way past them."

"Hum, a challenge!"

"Pull up a chair and join me."

The Ancients had a very open design to furniture throughout the crew quarters. The desk in Sheppard's room was just like the one in Dayton's quarters, featuring a large, clear surface against the wall with windows beginning just above the surface. The desk featured an L piece that jutted out into the room which was open below the surface. Sheppard sat on one side with Dayton pulling up a chair to sit on the other side. Dayton removed plates from the tray, carefully placing them between the two men.

"I don't know why I'm hungry since I haven't done anything for days. When I finally get back on my feet I'm going to have to run 20 miles a day for a week to get back in shape."

"You could stand to put on a few pounds. You are a little thin. And I speak from direct experience, remember?"

Sheppard frowned.

"Something wrong? Did I forget something you want for dinner?"

"No, everything is great."

"Then what's up, John? I can read you like a large print book."

"That's part of it. I'm not used to anyone being able to read me."

"Well, you can get over that. I'm here now. But at least I promise not to offer remedial training classes to anyone else."

"I really appreciate everything you've done for me the last couple of days. But since you're the one who got me into this situation in the first place, I guess that's only fair!"

"Not everyone is so lucky."

Sighing, Sheppard said, "I really can't do this."

"Can't eat? Why not? It's good food."

"I have a leadership role here. I can't risk losing the respect of my co-workers. They can't see me being openly, physically attracted ... to a man. There, I said, it. Happy?"

"Ecstatic. And you can do it. You're John Sheppard, you can do just about anything. And in terms of having the respect of your people, I can tell you that in the eyes of your people you practically walk on water. They love you and would go to the ends of the world for you."

This conversation was not going anywhere near how he had rehearsed it in his mind during the afternoon. His voice rising a little in frustration, Sheppard said, "I really can't do this. I appreciate everything you've done for me, but I really can't do this."

Dayton waited until Sheppard looked up at him. He locked eyes with Sheppard. His face was an utter mask; Sheppard had no clue what was going on behind that poker face. Dayton laid his fork down next to his plate, paused, holding Sheppard's eyes, and said, "Tough. Get over it."

Speechless, Sheppard simply stared. This was so not going as he had expected. In his mind, when he rejected the attractive young man, that would be it. The guy would leave, Sheppard would close that door and try to re-establish the shield he hid behind most of his adult life. He needed to return to being Sheppard the mystery man.

"I'm serious. Do I need to remind you that these are my quarters and that you are a guest here."

Sheppard made a valiant effort to appear stern. He called upon every iota of his military training to hold up under the stare his guest was giving him.

After a moment of silence, Dayton folded his hands, leaned back, and loudly pronounced, "Snap out of it!"

Sheppard's eyes widened, absolutely not knowing how to respond to that statement.

"It's not like I'm going to hump you in the Control Room, kiss you during a mission briefing, or break into a chorus of 'Some Enchanted Evening' in the Mess Hall, Sheppard! Now eat your dinner before it gets cold. The fish is actually quite good tonight."

Absolutely and totally at a loss for words for the moment, Sheppard decided that eating was perhaps the best solution. If nothing else, at least it gave him a few quiet minutes to get his thoughts in order. Never had he expected this conversation to veer so far off the script he had outlined in his mind that afternoon.

A few moments later he looked at Dayton and tried to revisit the topic, "I appreciate everything you've done for me, ..."

"Oh, we're not going to start that again are we?" Dayton interrupted. "OK, I can see its time to take this to a higher authority. Stand up! And wipe that deer-in-the-car-headlights look off your face. Stand up I said. NOW!"

Not knowing what else to do, John rose to his feet. Dayton remained seated, which surprised Sheppard. Looking straight ahead, Dayton asked, "So, little guy, what do you think?"

Stunned, John asked, "Who are you talking to?"

"Quiet! You had your opportunity. Now I'm talking to Little John."

"Hey! I thought we agreed not to call him "little"!"

Dayton rose from his chair and took two steps around the desk to stand face-to-face with the colonel. Before Sheppard knew what was happening, Dayton wrapped his arms around Sheppard's back and pulled into a kiss that threatened to curl his toes. Instinct kicked in before the brain engaged. Before he knew what he was doing, Sheppard responded to the passion of the kiss, wrapping his own arms around the man. When Dayton pulled back about fifteen seconds later his hands dropped to Sheppard's crotch. "Ladies and gentlemen, the judge has rendered his verdict and we have a winner!"

Dayton returned to his side of the desk and resumed his seat, picking up his fork to return to dinner. "Sit down, Sheppard, and eat your dinner."

"I don't like you anymore. You don't play fair."

"When I play, I play to win."

"I'm really uncomfortable letting my penis do my thinking."

"Well, at the moment he's making better choices than your other brain, so go with it."

Realizing that he had lost both the battle and the war, Sheppard returned to his chair. "Yes, dear," he uttered with a shy smile slowly spreading across his face. Searching across the plates he found a similar smile, which made his grown only bigger.

 

Chapter Five

The night that Sheppard conceded defeat was the first night that Dayton did not leave at the end of the evening. In fact, his guest did not leave at all that evening but instead spent the night. Sheppard tried to remember the last time he had been with a man. He knew it went back a few years. After all, he had not been with a man since coming to Atlantis. He tried to remember and the best estimate he could come up with was four years. He wondered if that qualified him as a virgin again.

When they had finished dinner, Dayton cleared away the dishes and returned them to the Mess Hall. Moments later he was back with a piping hot mug of Sheppard's favorite Athosian tea. When the tea was finished and a degree of mellowness had set in, Dayton noticed that Sheppard appeared to be physically uncomfortable.

"We need to get you back into bed. You don't look comfort in that chair."

Hating to agree, Sheppard was force to grant him this one. "My back is killing me tonight."

Getting John to his feet, Dayton pointed him toward the bed. Before John could drop back into bed however, he felt his t-shirt being drawing up from behind. Almost before he was aware of what was happening, his chest was bare and Dayton's hands had moved on to remove Sheppard's sweat pants. Stepping out of them, Sheppard said, "No offense, but as much as I want this too, I don't think I'm in any shape for a night of passion."

"No passion at the moment. Lay down on the bed on your stomach so I can work on your back." Like a ninety year old man, Sheppard complied with the direction, adjusting his pillow so that he could turn his head and breathe comfortably.

"What cha' gonna do?" he asked.

Rather than answer in words, Dayton climbed gently on top of Sheppard's legs and started gently rubbing his hands across Sheppard's back. Bit by bit he widened the area of his focus and gently increased the amount of pressure he was applying.

"Oh, my God, that feels wonderful! Whatever you're doing, please don't ever stop. I can die a happy man. I have seen the promised land!" Words dwindled into vague babbling that generally conveyed happiness.

Over the course of the next hour Dayton slowly worked his way over every inch of Sheppard's back, kneading his muscles to loosen them up and allow him to relax. When Dayton's hands began to tire a bit from the strenuous workout, he pulled a small device from his pocket and slipped it over his right hand. Flipping a switch the flat device began to gently vibrate. He worked the vibrating back massager gently over the same muscles, paying particular attention to the points at which Sheppard had grimaced earlier.

When John thought life couldn't get any better, those magical hands and that wonderful massager moved on to his legs, his calves, and his feet, before coming back up to work his butt and hips. One side finished they moved on to the other side. John didn't realize how tight his muscles really were until Dayton so efficiently one-by-one loosened the tension and made John feel something like a bowl of Jello.

Work on the second leg completed, Dayton turned off the massager and gently turned his attention to the area between John's legs. He slowly working his warm hands deeper and deeper, working the area between John's balls and his butt. With his friend purring once again like a kitten, Dayton knew he was doing something that felt good.

Deciding not to push too far, he returned his attention to John's back. John felt something warm and wet drip onto his back, followed immediately by Dayton's blessed magical hands. The wetness must have been some sort of oil because his skin was slicker, allowing less friction as Dayton worked his way back across the different muscle groups.

Even though Sheppard could have happily stayed in this position for the remainder of his life – so long as those hands were part of the deal – he felt Dayton lift himself off Sheppard's body. "Ok, turn over now."

Eyes popping open, Sheppard realized that he had popped the mother of all erections; if he rolled over there would be no hiding the fact that a tree was growing in Atlantis and he was the root of that tree.

Fully realizing what was going on, Dayton gently slapped John's butt and said, "I know. You've probably got an erection. Doesn't matter. I'm working on other muscles at the moment. Besides, I've felt it before."

Not knowing what else to do, John groaned and slowly rolled over onto his back, freeing his erection to stand up tall and proud.

"My, my. You're right. We have to stop calling him "little" anything!"

Smiling, John said, "I told you!"

Once again climbing on top of Sheppard's body, Dayton spread some more of the warm oil, this time on John's chest. He gently worked the oil across Sheppard's skin, slowly massaging the various muscles. He worked across John's chest, down his arms, his shoulders, his neck, his face, his hips, his legs, again the feet, and again the area between John's legs. One by one he lifted John's legs, cradled them on his lap and methodically worked to loosen every muscle in John's body.

A look of pure relaxation covered Sheppard's face, which was all the affirmation Dayton needed.

When he completed work on the rest of Sheppard's body he moved from the bed to drop to his knees beside the bed. Sheppard's eyes were closed so he had no idea that an equally skilled mouth was about to envelope his erection. Slowly but surely, Dayton worked his lips around the head of John's penis, alternating sucking and licking the shaft of the beautiful tool. John's smile had turned more serious and groans had begun to escape his lips. Dayton felt hands touch the top of his head and then grab his hair, encouraging him.

Before long Dayton's lips were reaching all the way to the pubic hair at the base of John's dick with John's dick fully encased within the best mouth it had ever met. Slowly, Dayton rose from fully enclosing Sheppard's dick to the point where only the head remained in his mouth. Seconds later, after twirling his tongue around the head of the dick, he would swallow the entire thing and again work his throat muscles on the head of John's dick.

John's groans deepened and the grip on his hair tightened. He knew John was getting close so he speeded up his action, moving from head to root more quickly and with increasing speed. Simultaneously he wrapped one of his hands around John's balls and gently cupped the orbs.

The moans were replaced with gasps and cries. "Oh, my God! I'm cumming!!!!!" Sheppard cried. Dayton sucked in Sheppard's entire dick and held it deep while he felt Sheppard pump spurt after spurt down his throat. He milked any remaining drops from Sheppard's dick before gently backing off to keep just the head of his penis in his mouth.

A few more deep throat moves followed, but already Sheppard's erection was losing some of its firmness and he was moving from rock hard to long and swollen. Eventually Dayton moved his mouth and placed a light, gentle kiss on the head of John's dick. He crawled up onto the bed and lay beside John, running one hand across John's chest.

John's breathing eventually returned to some semblance of normal. When he felt capable of speech once again, he felt that any words were insufficient for what he had just experienced. What finally came out was simply, "Wow! I don't think I've ever had an orgasm like that in my life."

"You've never been with me before in your life," Dayton playfully responded. "Play your cards right, mister, and you could get that – and better – on a regular basis."

"I don't think my heart could take it! But what a way to go. Seriously, I don't know what to say. That was fantastic!"

"Shhhh. Just go with it."

John actually followed direction and within moments was quietly snoring. Dayton quietly rose from the bed to get a blanket which he lovingly placed over John's body. He lowered the lights and made sure Sheppard looked comfortable. If only John's bed was bigger than a single! Dayton so wanted to crawl in beside John and wrap his arms around the man and hold him as he slept. But a single bed just wasn't big enough, especially with John's back so recently injured.

Instead, he moved to another chair in John's room, the chair John frequently used for reading in the evenings. Turning on the small reading light next to the chair, Dayton discovered that the chair was the ancient equivalent of a recliner. His version of the ancient gene allowed him to instruct the chair in how to reposition itself. His legs rose, the back reclined, pressure points changed, and Dayton found himself wrapped in the next best thing to a warm lover's embrace. Even though the evening was still relatively young, both men slept the sleep of champions. The city felt satisfaction, if it is possible for a city to feel emotions, and dimmed the lights the rest of the way so that the two men could sleep undisturbed.

 

Chapter Six

The previous evening John had considered if he was a virgin again after so many years without sex with another man. When he awoke in the morning he didn't think that the term 'virgin' could ever be used to describe him ever again. After one of the best night's sleep he could ever recall having, John awoke as the sun was rising, feeling surprising good. He still hurt, but the intensity was not nearly as bad as it had been the previous day. On top of that, he had forgotten to take his muscle relaxant before falling asleep the previous night so he knew that what he was feeling was real improvement.

Stretching awake, John's eyes took in Dayton nestled into his reading chair across the room, peacefully sleeping. Without realizing it, a smile spread across John's face and a peaceful feeling wrapped itself around his mind. He realized that he had finally met his match in this young man who quite literally fell onto Sheppard out of the sky. And while he would rather have had their first meeting in a more conventional way, he realized that it required something extreme to blast through his personal shield and penetrate all of the defenses he had put up over the last couple of decades. While his concerns were legitimate and still needed to be discussed, basically John felt comfortable and at peace with where things were moving. Twenty-four hours earlier he never would have guessed that he would be thinking such radical thoughts, but there it was. John was happy – at least for the moment.

Detecting the movement across the room, the lightly sleeping Dayton roused from sleep and looked across to check on his patient. Both men rose from their sleeping positions and took a step toward one another.

"Good morning!" Dayton greeted.

"And top of the morning to you, too."

"Sleep well?"

"I did. I actually feel better this morning. Thanks to you and your magic hands. I think you did more for my back than any of Carson's little pills ever possibly could."

"Thank you. It was my pleasure."

"I feel like I really need a shower. I feel grungy."

"Well, now that you mention it, you do smell a bit like a barnyard animal."

With raised eye brows, Sheppard tried his best to look indignant. "Well, I was going to invite you to join me but now I'm not so sure." Crossing his arms across his chest he tried his best to look put out. A couple of deep breathes, though, and he had to admit that Dayton was right – he did smell like something from the barnyard.

"All right, I'm going to shower." He headed to the bathroom. Pausing to look back over his shoulder with his best "come hither" look, he added, "Think you might want to join me? Strictly for safety, of course."

"Of course. We wouldn't want you to slip and fall in your weakened state."

"Exactly."

In the bathroom Sheppard slipped off his socks and started the water. Dayton had more clothes to remove but dispatched them with great efficiency. Once Sheppard had the water at an acceptable temperature he turned back for his first glance of Dayton without any clothes. A stunned look immediately appeared on his face as his mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. "Good God. Are you part horse?" His eyes, of course, were focused on Dayton's rather sizable penis which was in the process of rising to the occasion.

"Not to my knowledge. What can I say; I'm just a big boy."

"You can say that. I don't know if I should be excited or frightened! Do you think we can all fit into the shower together or should I wait out here while you two shower?"

"I'm sure we'll make everything fit just fine." He wrapped his arms around Sheppard's shoulders and pulled him into a quick kiss. He achieved what he intended when he felt Sheppard's erection rise up to join his for a duel between their bellies.

They stepped into the shower with Dayton issuing a firm warning. "Now remember, you're back is still damaged. DO NOT OVER DO! Let me reach down and scrub things that you can't easily reach."

"You scrub my back and I'll scrub yours?"

"Something like that, except today I do more of the scrubbing than you do."

They set about getting Sheppard cleaned up, scrubbing the massage oil and accumulated grime from his body. After getting Sheppard cleaned up he set about quickly washing himself. During the process Sheppard ended up behind Dayton. As they were rinsing off, Sheppard's arms came around Dayton's middle and pulled him back into a hug. He could feel Sheppard's taut nipples against his back and Sheppard's flat stomach tucked up against his back. The Little Colonel was also present, tucked up against Dayton's luscious butt.

Sheppard rested his chin on Dayton's should. Dayton leaned back and let Sheppard envelope him in his strong arms, savoring the feeling. John's hands slipped down to Dayton's crotch where he gently wrapped his hands around Dayton's ample erection. With the warm water cascading over their bodies Sheppard started slowly stroking.

It didn't take long to evoke moans and groans from Dayton's lips as he got into the steady manipulation. With one hand working Dayton's penis, his other hand sought out and found two hard, pointy nipples that just cried out to be tweaked. The combination of the water, the feel of Sheppard's body, the skilled jerk-off, and the pressure of his nipples succeeded in pushing Dayton over the edge. He clenched as several massive spurts erupted from his penis. John held on to Dayton and his penis as the sensations continued for 10-15 seconds. As Dayton slowly came back down to earth he leaned back into Sheppard's arms as Sheppard leaned back against the wall of the shower.

"Thank you, John."

"You're welcome. As much as I want to keep my arms wrapped around you forever, if we don't get out of this shower we're going to be wrinkled beyond recognition. And personally I find your body too incredibly attractive to allow that to happen."

Smiling, Dayton agreed and reached to shut off the water. He opened the door to the shower and reached out for towels. Somehow they managed to get dried off and dressed without too many further hugs and strokes.

"Do you think you're up to getting out a little today?"

"Try and stop me! I'm hungry. Let's go to the Mess Hall for breakfast."

"Ok. But only if you promise not to overdo it today. The instant you feel any discomfort or fatigue, I want you back in that bed immediately. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Ok. If that's clear, then let's go get something to eat."

They exited Sheppard's quarters and slowly made their way to the Mess Hall. Dayton deliberately set a slow pace for John's first real excursion in a couple of days. The halls of Atlantis were surprisingly quiet. For such a small population in such a large city it seemed like there was constantly someone out and about, some activity was always taking place. But this morning the halls were quiet.

The Mess Hall had a few tables with people eating, a few tables with quiet conversations underway, but by and large was far from capacity. Sheppard and Dayton went through the line and got some food, albeit less than Dayton had brought to Sheppard one day earlier.

Teyla was seated at a table by the windows, so they joined her. In Dayton mind this was one of the best views in the city with wide, floor to ceiling windows that swung sideways to open on nice days, as they were at the moment. A gentle breeze periodically blew through the windows bringing with it the scent of the ocean. After they were seated, Dayton closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He never tired of the smell of the ocean. The ever-observant Teyla did not miss this, noting "I see that you also enjoy the smell of the ocean!"

"I never can get enough. The smell of the ocean is always wonderful, especially first thing in the morning."

"I agree," she added. "It is good to see you up and about, John. Are you feeling any better, or simply being your usual stubborn self?"

"Me? Stubborn? You must have me confused with some other John Sheppard. I am the opposite of stubborn."

Dayton worked very hard to suppress a chuckle, largely failing. He raised his mug of tea toward Teyla, touching mugs in a quasi-toast, adding a subtle nod of his head.

Before anyone could say another word they heard, "You're all in a disgustingly good mood this morning? What happened? Did some glowy Ancient chick swing by to give Kirk here a ride over the rainbow?"

This was Dayton's first encounter with McKay so he was a bit unsure of how to take McKay or his comments. While he gathered enough information through observation, he sat back and let others carry on the conversation.

"No, Rodney. No "glowy" chicks, as you call it. And stop calling me 'Kirk'! For the last time, I am nothing like him."

"You are so Kirk. Just stop deceiving yourself and admit it once and for all."

Teyla looked at Dayton. "Some Earth reference I have never fully understood," she explained with a shrug of her shoulders, taking a sip of her tea.

McKay went on for a few minutes about a number of things about which Dayton had no understanding. When he looked over at John he guessed that neither did Sheppard. But once McKay started he was somewhat like the Energizer Bunny fully wound up – there was no recourse but to let him wind down.

"So, when will you be back to work so we can get back off world?" McKay inquired out of the blue. "We're all stuck here until you stop slacking off and get back to work.

"I should be back to full by tomorrow," Sheppard responded.

Before Sheppard could utter another word, however, Dayton jumped into the conversation. "Like hell you will! Dr. Beckett told you that this would take at least a week to heal. You had a serious injury. You're just damned lucky I let you out to come here, let alone go off-world! Off-world! Good, God, Sheppard, get your head out of your ass!"

McKay burst out laughing. "Listen, kid. I don't know who you are ... but I think I like you!" And he went back to eating his breakfast, chuckling between bites.

Both John and Teyla were stunned. Their eyes found one another and held a silent stare. Dayton watched, not knowing what was happening. Teyla and John moved their stare to Rodney and then back to each other. McKay finally figured out that something was up. He looked up from his breakfast long enough to try to figure out what was happening, looking first at Teyla and then at John. "What?" he asked.

Teyla spoke first. "This is an historic day in the history of the Pegasus Galaxy."

John picked up her thought. "Never before in all of recorded history has Rodney McKay ever said the words 'I like you'. In fact, I don't think Rodney McKay has ever liked anyone, ever, in either the Milky Way or the Pegasus Galaxy. This is history, Teyla. We're present for the dawn of a new age. Life as we've known it will never be the same from this time forward."

"Shut up, Sheppard. I like lots of people. Stop making such a big fuss. And besides, I said 'I think I like you.'"

"Oh, well in that case ..." Sheppard shook his head, dismissing McKay's argument. "Tell me one person you like, Rodney. Name just one."

"I like Teyla," he answered. "And sometimes you're not half bad."

"Wow, Teyla. I'm not 'half-bad'. I feel so touched."

"Oh, bite me. Now shut up and let me finish my breakfast. I need my strength to save all your asses a couple of times before lunch rolls around." With that the table degenerated into such laughter that personnel at other tables turned to find out what was so funny. Not able to readily determine the cause of the excitement – it was, after all, too early to care – they turned back to their meals and tried to ignore the noisy table.

 

Chapter Seven

Major Lorne had observed the exchange between Sheppard, McKay, Teyla and Dayton as he was collecting his morning coffee. Walking up to the unusually boisterous table he asked, "Hey guys. What's all the excitement about?"

Sheppard looked up and explained the situation to Lorne: "Rodney said he likes Dayton!"

"McKay? Likes someone? Someone living?"

"That's it! Mock me like all the rest of these baboons. Make one comment to someone and see what it gets you. If you must know, I was just taken with the way what's his name put Sheppard in line."

"No one put me in line, McKay!"

Throughout all of this Dayton had sat quietly, somewhat stunned by the conversation that had evolved around him, all tracing itself back to one simple declarative statement he had made. Inwardly he was cringing, hoping that he had not said something wrong, something that would cause problems for John. Deciding that he couldn't make it worse than it already was, and never one to shy away from a fight, he jumped back into the conversation. "If I may, I was merely reminding the Colonel that his injury – which I caused, after all – was serious and needed time to fully heal before he returned to full-time duty."

Lorne nodded. "Makes sense to me. Sheppard is stubborn as a mule – and he doesn't take care of himself any better than McKay does."

Both Sheppard and McKay looked up at the same time and simultaneously voiced objection to Lorne's analysis. "Hey!" they complained in unison. Sheppard added, "I am most certainly not stubborn!" McKay cut in, "Neither am I! I'm just always right, that's all, and none of you have yet come to fully appreciate that fact."

After catching one another's eye, Lorne and Teyla burst out laughing. McKay and Sheppard both tried to sit upright a little straighter and look indignant and put out by the laughter.

"I am NOT stubborn!" Sheppard tried valiantly one last time. At this point, Dayton joined Teyla and Lorne in laughter. "Colonel, I barely know you but even I know that you're full of it on that one!"

"Ah, well … see if I break your fall the next time you come flying through the gate."

Attempting to placate the colonel, Dayton bowed his head and said, "And I am eternally grateful for your assistance in that matter, Colonel."

"Well, maybe you're welcome. But I'm still thinking about it. And I'm not stubborn, just persistent and determined."

"Whatever you say, Colonel," Dayton responded.

"You all take a lesson from him. See the respect this young man is demonstrating." Even John was having difficulty keeping a straight face as he spoke.

"I have not laughed so much in a long time," Teyla noted. "It feels good. Thank you all for getting my day off to a good beginning."

Lorne pulled up a chair and joined the group, appreciating the company of his friends and colleagues. "Dayton. I still need to talk to you to get your report on your last mission. I've talked with all the other members of your team. It sounds like you all could use a class with Teyla on effective hand-to-hand combat techniques."

Perking up, Teyla readily agreed. "Any time you would like to train, I am available to demonstrate effective self-defense maneuvers."

"I think I liked this conversation better when the Colonel was the focus. I'm a scientist, not a warrior. I can shoot a gun and get somewhere close to the target, but hand-to-hand combat sounds a little scary."

"Sounds like a great idea," John echoed. "And since I can't do anything physical, I think I'll come and watch."

"Oh, Jesus." Dayton tried to slip under the table and disappear.

"Hah, hah!" McKay couldn't resist.

"McKay! How long has it been since you've had a work-out with Teyla and her sticks?"

"Hey! I'm busy. And besides, we're talking about new guy here, not me!"

"I think I need to spend time with both of you, very soon," Teyla noted.

"Thanks, new guy. I definitely don't like you anymore."

Sensing a possible ally in this discussion, Dayton tried to enlist McKay's aide in opposing this idea. "McKay and I are scientists. We depend on and appreciate the care and protection we receive from our better-trained military counterparts whenever we go off-world. I for one could not begin to do what they do."

"Stop trying to suck up. I've finally found something you're no good at doing!" Sheppard couldn't resist.

"What? Hand-to-hand combat, or sucking up?"

"Sucking up."

"I'll get right on that," Dayton responded with a smirk.

By that time everyone had finished their breakfast. Teyla was the first to rise, pushing her chair back to the table. "Colonel, would you be available now for supervising the first training session for Rodney and Dayton?"

"Hey, I just ate!" McKay complained. "And I've got work to do."

Sheppard jumped into the fray and agreed that now was a perfect time. "The way I figure it, Teyla, I'm not good for more than another hour before I begin to wear down, so I think doing this now is a great idea. Let's go. Come on you two – to the gym now. Training is about to begin."

Grumbling and complaining all the way, McKay and Dayton followed Teyla and the colonel to the gym. Major Lorne tagged along just for the hell of it, willing to bet that this was going to be good. Inside the gym, Teyla directed them to remove their jackets so that their arms were relatively free from constriction. Before they knew what was happening Teyla had picked up a training stick with each hand and tossed them to her two newest students. Simultaneously McKay and Dayton yelled and ducked. Sheppard and Lorne burst out laughing.

"Oh, that hurts," Sheppard complained, bending forward in clear pain. "But it was so worth it," he said to Lorne.

"Come on guys! Pick up the sticks and butch it up!" McKay and Dayton leaned over to retrieve their training sticks cautiously.

"How do I know which end is the top?"

"They're sticks! There is no right end," Sheppard reprimanded.

While Dayton and McKay were trying to figure out how to handle their sticks, Teyla had picked up one of her own, moved into a fighting stance, and launched her first attack at her trainees.

Seeing what was coming, McKay dropped his stick to the floor, screamed, and feel to the floor with his hands over his head.

"McKay! Screaming like a little girl does not keep you safe from an attacking Wraith! Now pick up your staff and defend yourself." The entertainment value for Sheppard was wearing off and his fighting instinct was becoming frustrated.

Dayton, too, was rapidly becoming frustrated and decided enough was enough. "Ok. Teyla, bring it on – but not too hard! Please!?"

Teyla came at him once again. This time, however, when she launched her attack Dayton instinctively raised his stick to try to block. He didn't have a clue what else to do but his instinct was to keep the stick from making contact with his body.

His momentary feeling of satisfaction was all too fleeting as before it seemed humanly possible Teyla had twirled completely around and was coming at him from another angle. He tried to raise his stick to once again protect himself from attack but this time without as much success.

With assume skill, Teyla's attack stopped less than an inch from making contact with his body. Without thinking he clenched his body, bracing for the impact which fortunately did not happen.

"Very good. You were doing the right thing but you need to anticipate attack from different angles. Sometimes you will have multiple attackers come at you at the same time – your life will depend on your being able to deal with both of them at the same time."

"Makes sense. Let's try again – but I make no guarantees."

Once again Teyla launched at him. This time he knew she was capable of moving faster than most so he was not as surprised when she came at him. Again he fended off her first attack. This time he came closer to blocking the second attack. But this time Teyla did not stop with the second attack but immediately swung around and came at him again. He blocked her third attack but completely missed on the fourth.

This time when she stopped to explain what he had done wrong on his last move he did not wait but launched his own attack against her. With only the raise of her eyebrows she easily fended off his attack and launched her own back at him which he completed missed.

"Uncle!" he cried when she had him on his knees with her stick against his throat. "Why isn't McKay getting some of this action?"

"Hey, leave me out of your bonding moment!" McKay offered.

"I agree, Dayton, Dr. McKay should have a turn."

With Sheppard and Lorne standing off the side watching, Teyla twirled completely around and came at McKay. He tried to block her attack but completely missed.

"Remember, Rodney, no screaming like a little girl!" Sheppard offered.

"Don't you have someone else to harass, Sheppard?"

"Nope. Just you."

The sparing lesson continued for another twenty minutes. By the time they adjourned, Dayton was sweating profusely and felt quite winded, but he also felt he had come closer to holding his own than when he started.

Pausing to catch his breath, Sheppard walked over and congratulated him on his effort. "Good job. Do you always sweat so much?"

"No, Sheppard, only when I'm being chased by a weapon-wielding attacker!"

"Welcome to my world. Come on, I'll walk you back so you can shower." They moved off to the nearest transporter and made their way to Dayton's quarters, which Sheppard had not visited.

Once inside his room, Dayton made his way toward the bathroom, shedding clothes as he walked. By the time he was in the bathroom he was naked. Moving immediately into the shower he let the water beat down on his tired and aching body. Sheppard leaned against the bathroom sink enjoying the view of Dayton's naked and glistening body. Dayton had pulled his beautiful dirty blond hair back; Sheppard thought that he had never seen a more beautiful site than his newest friend. As his eyes took in the full view he was reminded that Dayton was hung like a fucking horse! Without realizing what was happening, Sheppard's mouth started to water as he thought about wrapping his lips around Dayton's beautiful dick. It would be a challenge, but Sheppard was always up for a challenge.

If his back had been in better shape, Sheppard would have shed his clothes and dropped to his knees inside the shower to find out if he was up to the challenge.

While Dayton let the water roll over his body, Sheppard moved back into the bedroom and slowly lowered himself to the bed so that he could stretch out and take the pressure off his back. A few minutes later Dayton appeared in the doorway toweling dry. He threw the towel back into the bathroom and walked naked into the room, his dick swinging back and forth heavily as he walked. He stopped in his tracks when he realized that Sheppard was sound asleep on his bed. As quietly as possible he found some clean clothes and got dressed. He decided to sit at his desk across the room and do some work on his laptop computer for a few minutes to see how long Sheppard would sleep. He suspected that the man had tried to do too much all at once.

An hour later Dayton was thoroughly involved in his work when he heard Sheppard stir from his sleep. Looking across the room Sheppard met his eyes. Leaving his laptop, Dayton walked across the room and dropped to his knees beside the bed. He picked up Sheppard's hand and wrapped it in his own, asking, "Feel any better?"

"More rested, but I'm a little sore. You wouldn't by any chance have any of those pain pills from Beckett anywhere handy, would you?"

"Actually, I think I have the bottle in my jacket pocket. Let me check." He rose, found his jacket on the floor where he had dropped it earlier when they had come in. Feeling the pocket he found the bottle right where he thought they would be. He checked the label for the dosage before fishing out the proper number of pills. He went into the bathroom to fill a glass with water before returning to give Sheppard the pills. He downed the two tablets with a long swallow of water. Handing the glass back he noticed that he wasn't in his own quarters. "I'm not in my bed, am I?"

"No, you're in my bed. It has always been one of my goals to have the most gorgeous man in two galaxies in my bed."

"Well, then, I'd better get out of the way so you have some place to put him when he gets here," Sheppard joked.

"John Sheppard, you are the most attractive man I've ever seen. Smart. Stubborn. Sexy. I'll need more time to gather more information before I can say more." He smiled at Sheppard, dropped gently to sit on the bed. He reached out his hands and gently stroked Sheppard's hair before leaning over to plan a quick kiss on Sheppard's lips. A quick kiss turned into a longer, more elaborate kiss than he had originally planned.

"You don't know how much I wish my back wasn't killing me right now. I so want to pull you into this bed and do unspeakable things to you."

"I'm not going anywhere. When you're back to normal you have a date to fuck like rabid tree squirrels."

Sheppard smiled and kissed Dayton once again. "It's a date. We'll go at it so hard that we might just set off Radek's seismic sensors."

Dayton stretched out next to Sheppard and draped one arm and leg across Sheppard's body, nuzzling into him as the pain pills took effect. Going with the moment, Dayton felt utterly at peace. Moments later both men were sound asleep and all was well with the universe – or at least their little part of the universe for the moment.

 

Chapter Eight

For the next week Sheppard and Dayton were inseparable. They ate together, they slept together, they showered together, they watched movies together. If they could have found a way to work together they would probably have done so. They had not discussed this but it had simply occurred and seemed utterly natural to both.

Dayton hounded Sheppard relentlessly about not overexerting himself and re-injuring his back. For his part, Sheppard actually managed to behavior responsibly and spent the time necessary for his back to heal. Each night, after work and dinner, Dayton treated Sheppard to one of his famous total body massages. Sheppard had never had a massage before but after the first he was a total convert – at least those provided by Dayton.

By the end of the week Beckett pronounced Sheppard fit to return to limited duty, so long as he didn't stress his back muscles. With the doctor's verdict they decided that it was time to take their relationship up another notch physically. Sheppard had several times expressed eagerness to rut like a couple of farm animals, but Dayton had insisted that nothing was going to happen until Sheppard was cleared to return to light duty.

As soon as Beckett pronounced his verdict, Sheppard hopped down off the exam table and exited the Infirmary with Dayton hot on his heels. To the casual observer, they looked like two very focused men with something serious on their minds. Sheppard was actually grateful that no one on Atlantis had the ability to read minds; if they had they most likely would have been shocked at the images floating through Sheppard's mind as they walked to Sheppard's quarters.

The second door closed, their arms were wrapped around one another as their lips met for a passionate kiss. Their hands explored one another's body as their tongues battled one another. Soft moans began to escape from John's throat as the kiss intensified.

Dayton pushed Sheppard back against the wall. John's head fell back against the wall as Dayton's mouth moved to John's neck, licking John's neck, jaw and chin. Dayton grabbed John's arms and lifted them up against the wall, dropping his mouth to Sheppard's chest to nib and tease his nipple through the cloth of his t-shirt.

Releasing John's hands, Dayton dropped his hands to Sheppard's belt, working to get through the clothes and release Sheppard's rock hard erection. With the belt unbuckled, pants unbuttoned, and the fly unzipped, he gave a push to the pants and underwear, sending both dropping to the floor. His hands immediately moved up to grab John's t-shirt which he pushed up and off in one swoop. His lips moved back to attack Sheppard in another passionate kiss. After a moment he again grabbed Sheppard's arms, pushing them above his head and diving his tongue to attack first one and then another of his pointy nipples.

Dayton's chest was lightly hairy, but Sheppard's chest was covered with beautiful black hair. Sheppard didn't know how, but Dayton managed to grab some of those hairs around his nipples, twirling them with his tongue as he teased the area around Sheppard's nipples.

Soft moans had been replaced by begging. "Sweet Jesus, I want you more than I've ever wanted anyone in my life."

Without moving his mouth from Sheppard's neck he asked, "What do you want, John? What do you want me to do?"

"Oh, God. I want you. I want you to fuck me!"

Releasing Sheppard's arms he pulled him away from the wall and slapped his bare butt. "Then get your ass in bed. I'll give you a fucking you'll never forget." His lips met Sheppard's once again for another intense kiss. He released John to finish undressing. Dayton moved back a few steps and striped off his own clothes. His own dick was rock hard.

Glancing at Dayton's dick while he removed his boots, John said, "I must be nuts to think we can get that inside of me."

"Too late. Your ass is mine buddy boy."

"Ok. You can have it – but just return it in one piece if you don't mind."

Dayton pushed John backwards onto the bed, throwing himself onto the Colonel and immediately going in for another deep kiss. Pulling his head back he looked into John's eyes. John said, "Hi there. Déjà vu. Haven't we met like this somewhere before?"

"Fewer clothes this time."

"Oh, right. And this time you're hard too, not just me."

The ensuing chuckling gave way to more dueling tongue action followed by some serious nipple work. John didn't realize his nipples could be so highly aroused – for that matter he didn't realize that he could be so highly aroused. He felt like a toy top that had been wound too tight and was ready to give up all of its accumulated energy in a single burst.

Dayton caressed John's chest, his flat stomach, and worked down to those long, sexy legs. Before John realized what was happening, Dayton was between his spread legs and their super hard dicks were rubbing together, fighting for space between their bellies.

Pushing John's legs higher, Dayton stuck one of his fingers into his mouth and moved it to gently begin caressing Sheppard's hole. With a look of pleading in his eyes, John met Dayton's eyes. "I know this is conflicting opinions, but I really want you to fuck me … and I also want you to remember that I haven't done this in four years, so be a little patient and gentle until I get used to it again."

"Deal."

Reaching to the night stand beside the bed, Dayton located the bottle of lotion that he had stashed there earlier for this very occasion. Applying some to his hand he gently worked it all around between John's legs in a massaging motion. He was trying to loosen up all of John's muscles before tackling the tightest muscle between his legs.

He added more lotion to his fingers and ever so gently worked one finger slowly into John while pushing his legs a little higher with the other. John draped his legs over Dayton's shoulders while reaching down to stroke his throbbing hard erection.

Dayton reached down and slapped John's hand. "Not yet. I want you to come once I'm inside of you."

"Well, then, get this show started."

"You're not ready yet. But once you are you'll never be the same again!"

"Awfully sure of yourself there! Let's see you deliver on those words!"

Withdrawing his one finger he added more lotion and eased it back into John, slowly and gently stretching him. After holding his finger in place for about 15 seconds he slowly pushed it in a little deeper before pulling it back out. More lotion, more pushing and pulling.

When he sensed that John was accustomed to one finger he applied more lotion and went for two fingers. The second finger seemed to be no problem for John, but when a third was added a couple of minutes later there was a brief grimace on his face.

Dayton slowed the pace and let John get accustomed to the feel of three fingers in his butt, stretching him to accommodate what was coming next. While using one hand to stretch John, he used his other hand to apply lotion to his throbbing hard erection.

Moving forward he pushed John's legs higher onto his shoulders and look down into John's eyes. Their eyes locked and Sheppard pleaded, "Fuck me. I need it NOW! Please fuck me."

Placing the head of his dick at the entrance he locked eyes with Sheppard and slowly started to work his dick into Sheppard. As the head slipped in, John gasped and threw his head back, gripping the sheets with his hands. Dayton held still for a few moments, giving Sheppard time to become used to the feel of so much dick up his ass. When Sheppard seemed ready he pushed the first inch of his dick forward.

He held still for a moment before pulling back a little. Pausing again to let Sheppard relax into it he leaned forward and planted a kiss quickly on John's lips. The first inch went back in, slowly followed by the next inch. Pause. Pull back. Push forward. Another inch. Three inches were inside John now. The pattern repeated slowly and gently.

Pulling back so that just the head of his dick was left inside John, he squirted more lotion onto his dick before sliding in again. It took a few minutes but when John felt Dayton's pubic hair brush up against his ass he knew that he had it all – 9 solid inches of man meat.

John was limber and was able to pull his legs back to give Dayton full access. He held still once fully planted into John's body, leaning forward to kiss John with a passion and intensity John had never known before. He used his hands to push John's arms above his head and held them there as he took control of John completely. He felt John surrender all control, giving his body fully and freely to his new lover.

Moving his hands down to John's sides he moved into push-up position and pulled his dick back until just the head remained inside. Slowly he pushed back inside, watching John's eyes roll back into his head and his mouth fall open as he gasped for breathe.

"Oh, God, fuck me. Please!"

Dayton's only response was to again pull out and push back in, a little more quickly this time. Dayton raised himself a little and reached one hand between their bellies to find John's erection. He wrapped his hand around John's dick and started to stroke it in rhythm to his fucking. His hand had lotion which made the motion silky smooth.

John had been wound so tight that he knew he wasn't going to last. It didn't take more a couple of dozen strokes before Dayton felt John convulse and tighten every muscle in his body as he erupted, shooting with enough force to strike his face with the first blast.

With each spurt Dayton felt John's hole clamp down on his dick. He held still fully parked inside Sheppard, riding out the intensity of John's orgasm. As John's orgasm subsided, Dayton could feel his own ejaculation getting close. He released John's dick and started moving with more intensity. Closing his eyes he started pumping into Sheppard with a ferocity that consumed Sheppard. Sheppard fell back, releasing all control to Dayton, letting Dayton ride him, use him, fuck him as he truly needed to be fucked. John Sheppard rarely let down his guard, but when he did it was total. This was total surrender, total release. Dayton was in charge and he used that control, plowing into Sheppard with increased speed and intensity.

"Here it comes!" he shouted. "I'm cumming, John, I'm there. Take it," he ordered. Now it was his turn to convulse as his orgasm swept over him. He felt spurt after spurt leave his body to be planted deep inside his man. Sheppard wrapped his arms around Dayton's shoulders and pulled him down until their lips were locked as they rode out Dayton's orgasm.

As the intensity slowed and he came back to earth, Dayton fell forward fully onto Sheppard and kissed him. His hands moved to hold Sheppard's face. John noticed there were tears in Dayton's eyes.

When the power of speech returned, he asked, "Are you ok?"

"I've never been so ok in my life. That was awesome!"

"Yeah. I may never walk again, but it certainly was incredible."

Their lips met again in a more gentle kiss. "I've never had sex like that!"

Smiling, Dayton couldn't resist: "You've just never had me before, that's all. Stick with me, kid, and you can have that every day of your life."

"I think you'll give me a heart attack by the time I turn 40. But what a way to go!"

The two were just starting to come down from their high, mellowing out when they were startled back to reality by the door to Sheppard's quarters flying open followed by Lorne racing into the room. "Colonel! Are you ok?" He skidded to a halt and turned his head away. "Oh, God!"

Dayton quickly slipped out of Sheppard's ass and rolled over onto his back next to Sheppard to see what was happening. He tried to grab for a sheet or anything they could use to cover their bodies.

Leaning up on his elbows, John stammered, "Lorne! Don't you think you should knock first! I mean, I'm in afterglow here! Or I was until you came racing in here. What's wrong?"

With his face red with embarrassment, Lorne turned back noticing that both Dayton and John were naked and were making no move to cover up. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Lorne, I think, given the circumstances, you can drop the 'sir'."

"Yes, sir."

Dropping his head to the pillow and falling back, John closed his eyes and sighed.

"Hey," Lorne shouted. "I'm trying. I'm not used to finding my commanding officer naked in bed with his lover."

"What's up, Lorne? What's so urgent you felt the need to interrupt our first fuck?"

"Too much information, Colonel, too much information." He covered his face with his hands and shook his head.

Fully frustrated with the situation, John rose from the bed and walked over to Lorne, taking his hands from his face and looking him in the eye. "Lorne! Focus! What's up?"

"We couldn't raise you on the radio! A few minutes ago the lights all over the city dimmed and then we had power surges everywhere. It was almost like the power throughout the city was throbbing. McKay identified the source of the surges as your quarters. We couldn't get you on the radio so we didn't know what was happening."

Sheppard chuckled.

Lorne asked, "What's so funny?"

"It was Atlantis! When I was … when we were … reaching our peak, shall we say … I 'felt' my connection with the city grow stronger, more intense than I've ever experienced. It was almost as if all of her sensors throughout the city were my sensory input. I felt everything. We must have been connected so that I felt her and she felt what I was experiencing."

Finally recovering from his embarrassment, Lorne's only comment was, "Must have been one hell of a fuck!"

"You had better believe it!" he heard Dayton say, noticing that the other man had also risen from the bed and was standing on his other side. His eyes took in Dayton's naked body, startled by the size of the dick that was only somewhat erect. "Woow," Lorne started, backing up a step. "That's a … way to make a guy feel inadequate there, doc!"

"Thank you, Major. I'm quite familiar with the size since just a minute ago it was plowing into my ass. That is, until you burst through the door sort of killing the mood." He stared at Lorne for a moment, whose own eyes went back and forth between the two naked men.

Ever the analytic observer, Lorne looked from Dayton's erection to John and then back again before finally asking, "How in the world did you get that into him?" pointing at John.

"Now, Lorne, just a moment ago you were complaining about 'too much information.' Now you're asking for more information, information of a rather intimate nature, I might add. What's it going to be?"

"I think that falls into the 'too much information' category, sir. Forget I asked."

"Um, Lorne. Do you think you should call off the troops before a squad of Marines comes burst through my door to join the party?"

"Oh, shit!" Immediately touching his radio on his left ear he ordered, "Control Room? This is Lorne. I'm in the Colonel's quarters and everything is fine here. False alarm. I'll be back in a minute."

"Understood," they responded.

When Lorne terminated the connection John thanked him for calling off the Marines. "I do hope that this isn't a regular occurrence. I'm sort of old fashioned when it comes to sex – I don't like have my second-in-command join us when my boyfriend fucks me!"

"Well, next time maybe give me a little warning before you decide to … get … amorous. I'll need a few minutes to disarm a few sensors."

Realizing that Sheppard and Dayton were standing there stark naked and plastered with cum all over their stomachs and chests, Lorne again blushed and said, "I need to get out of here. I'm never going to be able to get these images out of my mind. Good night, sir. Good night, Dayton."

As he reached the door he stopped, turned, and asked, "Um, Colonel? I'm assuming that a man of your advanced age isn't up for a second round tonight so I don't have to rush to get sensors deactivated? Right?"

"Get out of here!" All three burst into laughter as Lorne beat a hasty retreat.

"Good night, sir."

"Night, Lorne."

The door slid shut once again.

"Well, I've heard about having your world rocked," Dayton said, "but I guess this time we really did it. We rocked Atlantis!"

"Frisky old girl, isn't she?"

"Frisky Colonel, too!"

They reached out and wrapped their arms around one another, tenderly kissing as their hands wandered over one another's backs. Dayton broke the kiss and took a step back. "Wait, didn't you just promise Lorne we wouldn't be 'intimate' again tonight?"

"I remember no such promise. After that experience there is no way I would ever make that promise. The only thing I'm willing to promise right here and now is that I want to be with you in any way, shape or form." In support of that statement, Atlantis flashed the lights in Sheppard's quarters a bit brighter for a second before dropping them back to their normal levels. John and Dayton laughed and headed into the shower to wash off the remains of their first mating.

 

Chapter Nine

The following morning Sheppard decided he needed to spend some with Lorne to find out if their experience the previous evening had done any damage to their working relationship. He didn't think it had, but the idea was nagging at the back of his mind throughout the previous evening and night.

After breakfast with Dayton, Sheppard headed toward his office. He had seen Lorne in the Mess Hall, but had decided that this conversation called for the privacy of an office – with the door closed and no one else present. Not sure what Lorne's schedule featured today (he really was out of touch after missing so much time at work over the last week plus), he decided to try to contact Lorne and save himself some unnecessary traipsing about the city looking for him.

"Lorne? This is Sheppard. Where are you right now?"

"This is Lorne, sir. I'm in my office … doing your work, sir."

"Thanks. Stay put. I'll be there in a minute.

"Will do, sir. Lorne out."

Lorne's office was immediately next to his a few hundred feet from the Control Room. As he approached the door, the city sensed his presence and opened the door for him to enter his 2IC's office. Looking up from his laptop computer and the surrounding piles of papers, Lorne smiled and said, "Good morning, sir."

"Morning, Lorne." Gingerly taking a seat across the desk from Lorne since his butt was a bit sore from the workout it has received the night before, he asked, "Have a minute?"

"Sure. What's on your mind?"

After mulling this over all night he found he was now at a loss for how to initiate the conversation when he was face-to-face with Lorne. "About last night, … you really surprised me when you came into my quarters."

Dropping his eyes to his desk, Lorne's face blushed with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry about that, John."

Sheppard noticed that Lorne had called him 'John' instead of 'Sheppard' or 'Colonel' which he took as a good sign. Encouraged, he continued with a bit more confidence. "Are you ok about what you saw last night?"

"I'm really happy that you've found someone, John, like I told you last week. I just had never thought through what the actual details of what that meant. I was just a little surprised."

Snickering, John again asked his question, "Are you ok about what you saw last night? Are we ok?"

Widening his eyes in astonishment, Lorne couldn't speak quickly enough. "Oh, yeah, we're fine." Meeting Sheppard's eyes, he spoke with great assurance. "Yes, John, we're good. We have been good, we are good, and we will continue to be good. Last night didn't change that one bit. I was wearing my scientist hat, not my soldier hat, when I said I was surprised."

Relaxing a bit, John sat back in his chair a bit less stiffly. "Thanks, Evan. I appreciate that. I've been awake for hours, worried that last night was going to destroy our working relationship. I value you and your work, … and your friendship too much to lose you."

"Thanks, John. I appreciate hearing you say that."

"I should have said something at the time, but I was caught completely off guard when you came flying in last night."

"No problem. You were thinking with your smaller head, not your bigger head, last night. I understand that my timing sucked."

Moving forward in his chair as if to stand up, Lorne leaned forward onto his desk, with a look of hesitancy on his face.

"Go ahead, spit it out. What's on your mind?"

"Can I ask you a personal question, sir?"

"Given that in the last week's time you've seen me pop a woodie in the Gate Room and get fucked by my boyfriend, I think we're past the secrets stage."

Now it was Lorne's turn to search his brain for the proper words to ask his question. Looking at John he asked, "No offense intended by this if the words come out all wrong. Last night you were the one on his back with his legs wrapped around his ears. That surprised me most of all. Did it make you feel like less of a man to be 'submissive' and let another guy put his dick inside of you?"

Never taking his eyes from Lorne's, John answered, "It made me feel like more of a man. A whole lot of men can't do it. The trust involved in letting go and being that intimate with someone you love is a huge deal. Beyond that, last night he triggered feelings in me, physical feelings in me, that I'd never felt before. Have you ever felt such ecstasy that your toes curled and waves of pleasured washed over your body?"

"I suppose."

"Trust me. If you really had, you'd know absolutely and positively that you had. That's what happened to me last night. We were joined together in the most intimate way possible. He was stroking senses I didn't even know I had. And it was fucking fantastic!"

Wide eyed with awe, Lorne simply nodded. "Thank you, John. I was so afraid I was going to offend you by asking, but I've been thinking about what I saw all night as well. And I can't ask anyone else about it except you. Please know that what I saw last night will never, ever go beyond us. Your life is your business and no one else needs to know the details."

"Thank you, Evan. I appreciate that. I know that military regulations in the Pegasus galaxy are a bit more relaxed than in the Milky Way galaxy, but we are still members of the United States military, and we both know how completely the leaders of our country have their heads up their collective asses on this issue."

Lorne chuckled and shook his head in agreement. "So to speak."

"Get your mind out of the gutter soldier," Sheppard jokingly ordered.

Raising his hand, Lorne acknowledged the order with a relaxed salute. "John. Know that you have my respect, support, trust, and friendship. Nothing is going to change that."

A wave of admiration passed over his body as Sheppard met Lorne's eyes before speaking. "Thanks, Evan. I really appreciate that. And ditto right backatcha." Lorne reached his hand across the desk and held it out for John. Their hands met and solidly shook to acknowledge and affirm their words.

"We've never talked about this, but I'm assuming that you're straight. Is that right?"

Lorne acknowledged that Sheppard's assumption was correct. "Yes, sir. I'm straight. But while I'm straight I like to think that I'm not narrow in my outlook on life." A twinkle in his eye, Sheppard saw the artist in Lorne and realized that the man who stood before him was one of the reasons why he so loved his job and his life in this galaxy.

"Every time I think I know you, I learn something new about you, and my opinion of you jumps up another notch. You're a good man, Evan Lorne. And a highly valued colleague and friend."

This was entirely too much touchy, feely stuff all at once, so Lorne deflected the conversation a little. "So, when the happy couple has their first formal dinner party, I expect an invitation!"

"You'll get it. And we'll try to not hump mid-way between courses."

"Now who's got their mind in the gutter, sir? And I appreciate the no humping dinner model."

Turning to leave, Sheppard stopped and turned back to Lorne. "One more question, if you don't mind." Gesturing to the chair, Lorne indicated Sheppard could sit again and ask his question. "How did you know about me? I've worked for more years than I care to count to try to bury any hint of my sexuality, to keep it hidden from public view, and frequently to try to keep it hidden from my own view. How did you figure it out? That day in the Infirmary you knew exactly what had happened. How did you figure it out?"

Nodding his head slowly, Lorne explained. "I'm a soldier, but I'm also an artist. I paint portraits of people, I take pictures of people." Sheppard was paying rapt attention to Lorne as he spoke. "For years I've studied people carefully to try to figure out who they really are so that my work captures the true person. We've known each other for four years now. There was no one thing you did that gave you away. I like to think I figured it out because of a thousand small things: looks you gave to someone, style, personality. It's hard to describe, but a couple of years ago I suspected. Turned out I was right."

"A couple of years? A couple of years ago?" Sheppard asked in astonishment. "Why didn't you say something?"

"There was nothing to say. It was just a fact. There were no questions to ask. It didn't change anything. And it was nobody's business except yours. John, I have five brothers. My next youngest brother is gay. I love him and respect him and thoroughly enjoy spending time with him and his partner. They're a great couple and we have a lot of fun together. I don't see them as much as I'd like since the commute is a bitch. Sexuality doesn't scare me. It's a part of who we are, a part of what makes us who we are. I'm not saying this at all well, John. I'll think about this and see if I can come up with the right words."

"Lorne, you are a treasure. Don't ever change!"

"Why, Colonel, sir, are you coming on to me?"

"Oh, shut up! Now, I really should get out before I get the urge to give you a hug, which would be really weird. Also, I need to get out of your way so you can get back to work."

"Well, since it's your work I'm doing, yes, you should. Unless of course you want to take it back and do your own work for a change!"

"Nice try. What can I say, you're just so much better at it than I am."

"We have to work on your sucking up skills, John. You need some work in that department."

"Get back to work! Want to join me and Dayton at 1 for lunch?"

"Yes, I would. 1:00 – I'll meet you in the Mess."

"Good. See you then. Oh, and Lorne. I think we need to find someone for you. You're not getting laid on a regular basis, are you? Trust me, it's a great thing."

Pointing a finger at John and trying to look his most fierce and threatening, Lorne responded, "Don't you dare! I don't have time for a life right now because some slacker military big wig keeps dumping his work on me. And when I am ready I'll find someone myself."

"Ok. But I'll keep my eyes open just in case."

Lorne turned back to the piles of requisition forms that had to be finalized for the next data burst back to the Milky Way. If he didn't get these finished the Daedelus wouldn't bring them what they needed on its next run. As usual, they needed everything from instant potatoes to ammunition. The next form was checked and approved with a smile.

John made his way to his own office right next door and reflected that he was a lucky guy. His life was everything he wanted – and more.

 

Chapter Ten

At 1:00, Lorne, Sheppard, and Dayton met in the Mess Hall for their pre-arranged lunch. Taking a table on one of the balconies, they ate their lunch while catching one another up on the gossip of the base and its personnel. Lorne was just finishing describing the behavior of one of the new Marines which launched Sheppard into hearty laughter. At that moment Teyla and Ronon joined the table with their trays of food.

"What's so funny, Colonel?"

"Lorne was just telling us about one of the new Marines. I wonder if those boys are old enough to be off their mama's nipple yet? They're so young, and I'll bet some of them have never traveled outside their home towns before going to basic training and then getting shipped out here to the Pegasus Galaxy. What a hell of a first assignment!"

Ronon looked confused, so Dayton tried to explain. "On Earth, even though the planet is huge, many people never leave the area in which they were born and raised. To have a first trip anywhere be through the Stargate and clear across the galaxy is a BIG first trip."

Sheppard jokingly suggested that perhaps a few of them needed another nipple to suck on until they were weaned. Teyla and Ronon got the gist of the conversation but were unsure about the context in which it was occurring. Not fully understanding, they chose to remain silent and listen.

Lorne and Dayton simultaneously scolded John for his comment, Dayton reaching across the table and slapping John's hand, "Bad, John! Bad."

"Quite an image, though, you've got to admit. They so want to please!"

"Get your sleazy mind out of the gutter, Colonel," Lorne ordered, smiling at his CO.

Ronon decided to join the conversation, much to Teyla's discontent. "There is that one new Marine that Teyla is drooling over; I'm sure she'd offer him some comfort if he misses his mama."

"Ronon!" Teyla scolded.

"What? You like him. You go out of your way to watch him. Yesterday you commented on how good he looked in that sweaty t-shirt after his training session."

Blushing furiously, Teyla dropped her head and attempted to reclaim some of her dignity. "I was simply admiring his 'glow'."

"Glow?" Lorne, Sheppard, and Dayton said simultaneously.

"Yes, his glow," Teyla answered.

"I've got to check out this Marine. Is he here right now?"

No one saw the young man in the Mess Hall at the moment, so Sheppard asked, "Lorne, you've got to point this guy out to me! In fact, aren't we due to do a surprise inspection of something?"

"No, sir! Don't go there," Lorne jokingly warned.

"What?" Sheppard asked in mock confusion. "I just want to be able to relate to what my team mates are experiencing. That's just the hallmark of a good officer. This is all strictly in the line of duty."

"What a load of crap, John!" Dayton said very matter-of-factly. Momentarily forgetting where they were, Dayton added, "If you need any, let's go back to your quarters now and I'll …" He caught himself before he went too far.

Everyone else at the table burst out in laughter, knowing exactly where he was going with his statement.

Ronon gave his assessment: "Sheppard, I like your new husband." Clapping his hand on Dayton's back, he added, "You're all right." Unfortunately, John Sheppard had been taking a drink just as Ronon made his pronouncement. Upon hearing what Ronon had to say he spit out the liquid that was in his mouth, getting some on just about everyone at the table.

Wiping water from his face, Lorne was the first to recover. His face showed a look of astonishment. "So, Dayton, Ronon is a man of few words! High praise indeed."

Coughing and flushing a little, John was uncomfortable with this conversation. Teyla patted him on the back until he recovered from swallowing his water the wrong way. John was unaccustomed with anyone knowing about his relationship with Dayton. He had spent too many years in hiding, suppressing every hint of who he really was, to comfortably allow this conversation to go on now.

With a look of deadly seriousness, John addressed Ronon. "He's not my 'husband,' Ronon. The US military will not allow two men to have even the hint of a relationship."

"You're kidding, right?" Ronon asked seriously.

Lorne answered. "Unfortunately, no, Ronon. The US military is very strict and stubborn about such things. If they even suspect that one of their soldiers is thinking about another man in a personal or sexual way, they'll remove him from his duties and throw him out of the military in disgrace."

Teyla had heard of this strange Earth custom before but still did not fully understand. "I have heard others speak the same. I must admit that I do not understand."

"If our leaders even thought that I was seeing a man, they'd have me out of here so fast I wouldn't even have time to pack my bags. They'd lock me in handcuffs and throw me through the gate." Sensing anger growing in Ronon, John added quietly, "I really appreciate what you said, Ronon. I really do. I just need to ask that you only say something like that in our little group. No one else can ever hear even a hint of that."

"Ok." Ronon agreed, not fully understanding. "I don't get it. You Earth people can be so strange. I mean, love is love. It doesn't matter if it's a man and a woman, or two women, or two men. On Sateda, my commanding officer served with his husband and we had a lot of male couples in the company. In my experience, the men who had a husband with him fought extra hard to make sure their husbands stayed safe and weren't harmed."

A look of utter sadness washed over Sheppard's face as he thought about the contrast of what Ronon described with Earth military customs. Dayton watched the wave of sadness hit John but didn't know what to say to make it any better.

Ronon, however, had a good solution. "Well, your military can keep its blindfold on and ignore whatever it wants to. But I stand by you guys, and between us, I still like your new husband."

Snickering a little, John said, "Thanks, Ronon. That means a lot to me."

"Me, too," Dayton added.

Switching subjects, Ronon spoke to Dayton. "So, Dayton, I hear you've been training with Teyla. When you want to try fighting with me?"

In all seriousness, Dayton answered, "Ronon, I'm not remotely as skilled at fighting as you and Teyla. You'd probably beat the crap out of me."

"Nah. I wouldn't do that – at least until your second lesson!"

"John, help! Ronon wants to hurt me!"

"You're on your own with that one. You could learn a lot from training with Ronon. And we all heard him say he wouldn't hurt you until your second lesson."

With a look of resignation, Dayton responded, "All right, Ronon, I'll give it a try. But I can't do it until I've updated my will and gotten all of my affairs in order."

"Don't worry. I'll make you work, but I won't kill you."

Lorne snickered and commented, "Notice he said he wouldn't kill you, but he didn't say anything about not hitting you."

"Best way to learn," Ronon added.

The group ate in comfortable quiet, occasionally gossiping about someone after they had passed by their table. Teyla scolded them after one particularly biting comment by noting, "You are all wicked people! I cannot believe what you have to say sometimes." She paused for a few minutes before adding, "I'm just glad I'm here to hear it all!"

This elicited another round of laughter from the group. When breakfast was finished, everyone dropped off their trays and headed off to their work for the day. John and Dayton left the Mess Hall together. In the hallway outside the Mess, John asked Dayton if he had a minute. They headed back to John's quarters for a minute.

Once inside with the door closed, John planted another kiss on Dayton. They hugged, enjoying the feel of the other's body.

"Ronon really knows how to cut through all the BS and get right to the heart of the matter, doesn't he?"

"Yes, he does. And he likes your husband!"

Both John and Dayton smiled and at each other, enjoying the approval of their friends. "It just means I have good taste in men," John tried.

"I must agree with you on that point," Dayton responded.

Hugging a bit more, John quietly whispered in Dayton's ear, "I just wish it was possible for you to really be my 'husband.' I'd consider myself the luckiest man in the world."

"Is that a proposal, John?"

"You know that I could never really do that as long as I'm in the Air Force and we're here in Atlantis. There are no secrets in this city. We're like a big, gossipy neighborhood. Everyone talks about everyone else and who and what they're doing. I hate it, but I'm the head military officer here and can't publicly do anything that would hurt my command authority."

Dayton sighed and hugged John. "I understand, John. It's not the ideal world I would create if I had a choice, but I'm grateful that you are a part of my life."

John kissed Dayton and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. They stood, embracing in silence for several minutes before a final kiss. Unfortunately, it was time for work and both had a great deal awaiting them. Squeezing John's hand, they let go of one another and left John's quarters, heading in different directions to their respective jobs.

 

Chapter Eleven

Life on Atlantis continued apace that week. Nothing dreadful happened, a new trading alliance was developed through the skillful work and off-world contacts of Teyla. The scientists had discovered a new toy while digging through some ruins on another mission. And no one had died or been injured in the line of duty for once, unless you counted McKay's ingrown toe nail. Based on his moaning and complaining it would have appeared that he was two steps removed from death.

The new sister ship of the Daedelus arrived at Atlantis as part of its shakedown cruise. The ship's captain wanted to give his crew a realistic training exercise, which led to a more frequent supply run that month than was usual. In his usual efficiency when it came to creating order out of chaos, Major Lorne received all of the paperwork and supervised the receipt and storage of all of the new items.

The typical supply run involved not only food deliveries, but mail delivery, the arrival of new personnel, and a thousand other details. Never one with a great deal of spare time, Lorne incorporated these additional duties into his daily workflow smoothly. Typically, when supply day was finished he returned to his quarters and collapsed for a ten hour sleep, but at least it was with a sense of accomplishment – something real, tangible, quantifiable had been accomplished. He could point to a pile, or to filled shelves, or smiles on personnel who received packages from home, and see the fruits of his labor. Work, yes, but satisfying also (but he guarded against anyone actually seeing that he enjoyed ship arrival day).

On this trip, 12 new personnel arrived in the city, 4 scientists and 8 Marines. When the ship had landed on the pier, Lorne walked out to greet the new arrivals. He took with him Dr. Zelenka to guide the new scientists to their quarters and assignments, while he took charge of the Marines. If any of them were claustrophobic, then an 18 day voyage through deep space was not their most favorite activity ever. In Lorne's experience, all new arrivals welcomed the feel of the sun on their faces and the smell of the fresh ocean breeze.

As his new arrivals disembarked and lined up before him, Lorne studied their faces. In his mind he sighed – they're all so young! When the last one exited the ship with a look of absolutely astonishment and wonder on his face, Lorne secretly wondered if that one was even old enough to be away from home yet. Each trip the recruits seemed to get younger; Lorne was not yet willing to admit that they only seemed younger because he was getting older. No, that thought would wait for another day when he wasn't in such a good mood.

Pulling everyone's attention to focus on him, Lorne greeted the new arrivals. "Ladies and gentlemen, your country (and your planet) welcome you to the Atlantis outpost in the Pegasus Galaxy. As I can see from the looks on your faces, and from the looks on the faces of just about every person who has arrived the same way you did, this place is special. You've been hand-selected for this assignment. As you can probably guess, this assignment is like no other assignment you'll ever have. This is Atlantis, the city of the Ancients, who were the gate-builders. The Ancients moved on long ago, but they've left this incredible city for us. As of now, you all are residents of Atlantis – this will be your home.

"All is not goodness and light in the City of the Ancients. We've got some pretty major enemies in this galaxy that we've really pissed off. They want nothing more than to see us exterminated and gone from here. You're job is to defend the city. You'll also be accompanying teams that go off-world to other planets in this galaxy to explore. Most of the time those exploration missions go smoothly, but not always. There are all kinds of unexpected and hidden dangers out there. Your job will be to keep your team out of danger. If they happen to step into it, you're job is to pull them out. Ladies and gentlemen, yours is not an easy job. … But it's also an awesome job that I wouldn't trade for anything in two galaxies.

"What's going to happen today is that we're going to get you assigned to quarters and give you your first tour of the city. Remember, this city is HUGE. What you'll see today is just the tip of the iceberg. We've been here four years, but there are still big parts of this city that we explored yet. For your own safety, only go off on your own to parts of the city that have been explored and cleared. Until you get a good understanding of who the Ancients were and how they thought, you can't begin to know what you'll find – and there's some weird shit out there, make no mistake."

"So, congratulations on your new assignment. Grab your gear and follow me." Lorne led his new charges along the outdoor pier toward the central core buildings. As they walked he touched his headset and called John. "Lorne to Sheppard."

"Sheppard here. What's up, Lorne?"

"Sir, I've got the new Marines who just arrived. I've given them my welcoming speech. We'll be in the Control Room in a few minutes. Do you want to meet them and say hello?"

"Absolutely. You know I love the look of deer in the headlights! I'll meet you there. Sheppard out."

Escorting his charges to the nearest transporter, Lorne explained what the device was and how to use it. Since they had never before set foot in the city he didn't expect them to know where to direct the transporter, so he one by one sent them to the pad nearest the Control Room. When he had his group reassembled he led them down a typical, wide, bright Atlantis hallway toward the Control Room. As they walked they occasionally passed other Atlantis personnel who all greeted Lorne with a smile or a wave.

As they rounded the last corner, Lorne spoke up so they could all hear him. "We're about to enter the Gate Room. Just above the Gate Room is the Control Room that manages most of the city's operations. These rooms are the most important rooms in the city. Learn where they are."

A few seconds later he led his group into the Gate Room and stepped back to watch the predictable looks of astonishment appear on all of their faces. Mouths dropped open and eyes widened as the new arrivals tried to take in the magnificence of the huge room that housed the Pegasus Gate.

"You'll all notice that the Star Gate here is different than the one on Earth. This one looks different and appears to operate differently, but the underlying principles of operation are the same. The system creates stable wormholes between two different gates on the network allowing instantaneous transport between those gates."

Lorne turned when he saw Sheppard come bounding down the stairs like a big excited dog – a dog that still was as playful and excitable as a puppy. Drawing the group's attention to Colonel Sheppard, Major Lorne introduced them, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce Colonel John Sheppard, military commanding officer of the Atlantis outpost, temporary leader of the Atlantis expedition, and your new CO."

Like clockwork, all eight of the new arrivals formed perfect salutes to acknowledge the presence of their superior officer. Sheppard directed, "At ease. I trust Lorne has started your orientation to our fair city, so I won't interrupt for long. I just wanted to meet you and give you my personal welcome."

Lorne handed Sheppard a single sheet of paper with the names of the eight newest military citizens of the city of Atlantis. One by one, Sheppard worked his way down the line of new recruits, shaking their hands, looking them in the eye, asking their names and where they were from. Sheppard's folks had great respect and admiration for him because he had the same for them. They would fight to the death for him because he would do the same for them. Several times over his four years in the city he had placed himself in harm's way with the assumption that there was no way out. Each time somehow an alternative had been found that saved his life, but he and his guys knew that there was always trouble lurking on any military frontline.

Finishing with his personal greetings, Sheppard turned the group back to Lorne with a closing word. "My office is always open if any of you need anything. … I'm usually never there, but feel free to stop in."

The group respectfully laughed with their new CO. "Lorne is my right-hand man who really keeps this city running."

"Colonel Sheppard is just the big flaming head, and I'm the wizard behind the screen pulling all the cords," Lorne joked, only to realize that again most of these men and women were too young to know about the Wizard of Oz. "Wizard of Oz, people. Colonel, we've got to educate these people about classic movies in Earth history."

"Next movie night! Bring on the scarecrow, Dorothy, and her little dog, too." Sheppard said the last part in a falsetto, quasi-evil voice, the closest he could come to imitating the Wicked Witch of the West.

Most of this went right over the heads of the new recruits; only two of them seemed to follow the banter while the rest looked somewhat mystified and a bit perplexed.

"Tough crowd," Sheppard commented. Turning to one of the two Marines who seemed to recognize what he was talking about, he said, "O'Brien," (actually remembering the guy's name), "do you know what I'm talking about?"

"Yes, sir!" the Marine responded.

"Relax, Marine. Can you tell these other folks what we're talking about?"

Clearly an order unlike any he'd ever had before, Private O'Brien explained to his peers: "They're talking about an old movie called 'The Wizard of Oz.' It's about a girl and her dog who live in Kansas. A big storm picks them up in their house and blows them to the mystical, magical land of Oz where they land on top of the Wicked Witch of the East, a mean old crone who terrorized all the little people of Munchinland."

Sensing that the Marine was getting wound up to tell the entire story in great detail, Sheppard cut him off. "Thanks, O'Brien. Well done. We don't want to tell them the whole story so that they'll be sure to come to movie night and watch it for themselves."

"Yes, sir," he responded, clearly pleased to have earned his CO's respect and thanks so early in the game, not to mention that the Colonel remembered his name.

"Anyway, Wizard of Oz aside, Lorne's a good guy. He's bright, he's fair, and he knows when to call me if he needs me. If I'm not around, go see him. We're all in this together, so get used to that. Welcome … and have fun!"

Sheppard left the group to ascend the majestic staircase to return to the Control Room. Lorne noticed that several Atlantis personnel were standing on the balcony overlooking the Gate Room, so Lorne drew the group's attention to those people. "Look up everyone," Lorne directed with his left hand. "Up there you'll see some folks you'll come to know and depend on. Two of those people are native to this galaxy and have seen things we've never even dreamed of seeing. They're good, they're tough, and they can teach you a lot. Ronon Dex, a native of Sateda." He gestured to Ronon who nodded his head, folded his arms, and kept a neutral look on his face. "Ronon will be working with all of you on some new fighting techniques. I don't care how good you are, he can beat the crap out of you without even breaking a sweat. Watch him and learn. It may just keep you alive someday.

"Next to him is Teyla Emagen. Teyla is the leader of the Athosians. Her people were the first people we met when we arrived in Pegasus. Teyla has been a true friend to us, she's a diplomat, wise beyond belief, and a real kick-ass fighter." Teyla also lightly nodded her head in greeting to the new arrivals.

"Next to Teyla is Dayton, one of our research scientists." Unlike Ronon and Teyla, Dayton smiled broadly before raising his right hand in a Vulcan salute, "Live long and prosper, people of Earth." The group chuckled. Despite their relative youth, most people were somewhat acquainted with Star Trek, even though it went out of production decades before they were even born. Lorne returned the Vulcan greeting before leading his group away.

Lorne gave the new people their room assignments. He guided them to the proper hallways and pointed them toward their new homes, instructing them in how to gain access to their rooms. "Ok, people, you've got one hour to get unpacked and get settled. In one hour I'll meet you all back in the Control Room where we just were and we'll take it from there. Any questions?" Hearing none, Lorne left the group to get settled, knowing full well that before the day was out they would have met their quota of curiosity about their new home.

 

Chapter Twelve

Returning to his office, Lorne found Sheppard's office door open and saw his commanding officer sitting behind his desk reading something memo-like. Knocking on the door frame, he acknowledged his surprise. "Colonel, are you actually allowed to sit there?"

"Very funny, Major. How are the new Marines so far?"

"They're all assigned to quarters. They should be getting unpacked and settled in right now. Did the Marines lower the age for enlistment or something? I can't believe how young they look."

"Nope. Same age requirements. You're just getting older like the rest of us."

"Speak for yourself, Colonel. I'm still younger than you!"

"Yeah, and if you want to keep it that way, I suggest you get back to work."

"Yes, sir," Lorne chuckled as he stepped next door to his own office.

He spent a few minutes checking his e-mail (couldn't escape the damned stuff, even in another galaxy) and checking through recent requisitions that he could approve to send back to Earth for the next supply run. Opening up a couple of databases and a spreadsheet, he updated his records with some of the items delivered on this morning's arrival.

When it was time to return to his new arrivals, Lorne stepped by Sheppard's office and asked, "You free to have lunch with the new Marines this afternoon? I know you like to spend some time with the new arrivals."

"Sure. You taking them there in about an hour?"

"Works for me. See you there. They'll love it – rubbing shoulders with the big shot. If only they knew!"

"Lorne – bite me!"

"No sir, that's Dayton's job, not mine."

Lorne headed off the Control Room and resumed his show and tell with the new Marines. Over the next hour he gave them a walking orientation to the city, explaining a few of the most important things as they walked. When it was time for lunch he guided the group to the Mess Hall and explained the typical hours of operation and gave his views on the food and the typical menu rotation. "Get your food and meet me over by the windows," he ordered, pointing toward the table where they should sit.

Sheppard was seated with Dayton at the table eating lunch when Lorne and the Marines arrived. John had explained the purpose of the lunch so Dayton stood up to excuse himself. Remembering their earlier introduction, one of the Marines gave the Vulcan V salute and offered, "Live long and prosper, Dayton of Atlantis."

Dayton smiled, returning the greeting before leaving. "I'm going off world this afternoon, Colonel. See you tonight."

John launched into his excitement about the city and some of the wonders of the Ancients. Very deftly he drew them into a conversation, in the process learning a bit about their background, views and experiences. He was always able to judge a fair amount about a person by the questions they asked. Some groups were shy and reserved, but that could not be said for most of this group. Sheppard was pleased to have a very animated, interactive discussion with most of the group.

Lunch "hour" turned into two hours with refills of coffees and teas. Sheppard usually tried to spend some time with the new arrivals on their first day, partly to give Lorne a break to get some of his other work done, and partly to learn about the men and women were under his command. Lorne had scheduled a conference room and told the group earlier that the Colonel would be instructing them in Atlantis procedures after lunch. Never one to conform to expectations, Sheppard handled his duties while seated around the lunch table. He found the group absorbed more if they felt relaxed and at ease.

With everyone's attention, Sheppard explained the assignments to off-world teams and duties while on off-world trips. He briefed the group on weapons sign-out, storage, and his expectations. Knowing that personality issues always came into play when mixing Marines with scientists (or for that matter, scientists with anybody), Sheppard also shared his warnings about quirky personalities and told them about some of the stubbornness and differing expectations they might encounter.

By this time Lorne had returned to the table from his other duties. He stood at the head of the table, quietly listening to Sheppard talking with the new folks. As he was just opening his mouth to get the group's attention, however, a voice came over the city-wide PA system urgently requesting, "Colonel Sheppard, Major Lorne to the Control Room immediately."

Both men moved quickly away from the table, yelling an order to the new Marines, "Come on."

As a group the ten people dashed out of the Mess Hall and ran to the Control Room. Sheppard yelled as he entered, "Talk to me, Chuck. What's happening?"

"Team 4 went off world about half an hour ago, sir. They were going to VR4-612 to check out some anomalous power readings. The planet showed no signs of recent habitation during a previous recon mission. Someone from the team just dialed back and frantically asked for help. It was a female voice which would mean its Dr. McIntyre. I asked for some detail but she just yelled to send help because her teammates were hurt."

"Who else is on the mission?" Sheppard asked.

Lorne's mind had been running along the same thought pattern. While Chuck was briefing the Colonel, Lorne had been checking the duty roster, so he answered the Colonel's question. "Lieutenant Rodgers and Lopez, Doctor McIntyre, and," pausing to take a breath and look up at his friend, "and Dayton."

Sheppard felt like a huge fist had just rushed in out of nowhere and punched him in the stomach. Every muscle of his body seemed to clench at the same exact moment. He also felt the blood drain from his face, causing him to almost zone out for a moment.

Sensing the Colonel's panic, Lorne moved over to stand beside his friend. He reached out a hand and placed it on the Colonel's back, whispering, "We'll get them, John. But I need you to focus now."

"I've got to go get him, Lorne!"

"No! John, you're the commander of the entire base right now. Your place is here in Atlantis. I'm going. You're going to stay here and keep the city running."

"Fuck the city, we're talking about Dayton!" Sheppard practically shouted. Dropping his voice and fixing a ferocious stare on Lorne he explained, "I cannot lose him, Lorne. It's too soon. I can't, …"

"I know, John. We're going to get ALL of them back. I need you here and I need you focused, John. You hear me? I need you here. This is my job."

Finally able to almost think again, Sheppard nodded his agreement. "Go!"

Flipping a switch on the citywide PA system, Sheppard issued orders for three teams that were not presently off-world to suit up and report immediately to the Gate Room for a rescue operation. Soldiers ran into the Gate Room moments later still donning their helmets and strapping on their weaponry for their emergency mission. Lorne had ran down the stairs two-at-a-time 60 seconds earlier to get his own gear. Sheppard noticed that he was back already. Another 60 seconds and 16 Marines were in the Gate Room, armed and loaded with determination, ready to go to work and rescue their colleagues. Lorne shouted out a quick summary and gave them their orders before shouting up to Chuck, "Hey, Chuck, dial it up. And take care of my Marines up there, would you?"

Everyone noticed that the eight new Marines were standing off to one side in the Control Room, taking in all that was happening, not entirely sure what was going on. Looks of anxiousness were on all of their young faces, but Lorne could not deal with that now.

The Gate started to dial and seconds later a worm hole was established, linking Atlantis with the gate on the world where their team was in trouble. Shouting to everyone, Lorne ordered, "Ok, let's move out and bring our people home!" In mere seconds the men had all dashed through and the gate was closed.

After so much activity, the sudden onset of quiet seemed to increase everyone's anxiety. When there was action, when something was happening, they all had something to focus on, but now that the activity had ceased the interminable waiting game started. Sheppard was no good at waiting, but he had no alternative. Trying to pull himself together a bit more, he turned his attention to the new Marines. One of the new guys asked, "What's happening, Colonel? Is there anything we can do?"

"One of our teams went off-world and … it seems like something happened shortly after they got through the gate. We didn't get much information back from them when they called for help, so I don't know what Lorne and his men are facing right now. Unfortunately, this is what life is like on Atlantis. We're basically behind enemy lines and anything can happen at any time. Sometimes we don't have the luxury of advance warning and time to plan our actions – we just have to roll with it and do the best we can. I have to stay here, so right now I need all of you to get out of here. Sorry about this but you're done for the day. Go back to your quarters, explore the city a little if you want. When Lorne gets back he'll give you your duty assignments. You're all dismissed."

Sheppard turned back to Chuck and, while he knew Chuck wouldn't know anything more, looked imploringly at the man, almost willing some information to appear out of thin air. John never liked it when his people were in trouble. And he especially didn't like having to stay behind and do nothing while his people were in trouble. Command sucked, he told himself.

Bowing his head and closing his eyes he took quiet comfort from his connection with the city. If nothing else he could feel the predictability and regularity of the city systems. He sensed everything from transporters in operations, jumpers in motion, water flowing through pipes, and lights coming on in hallways. It was all irrelevant information at the moment but it was at least a distraction.

Refocusing his attention on the situation, Sheppard asked Chuck, "What teams are off-world right now and what is their status?"

Chuck recited a litany of teams and off-world assignments mostly from memory with only one glance down at his computer monitor. Sheppard quickly figured what teams he had left in emergency reserve and who else he could call on if the need arose.

Touching his headset he spoke, "Sheppard to Beckett."

Almost instantaneously Beckett answered, "Beckett here."

"Prepare for possible injuries from off-world. I can't tell you what or when because I don't know. We've got a team off-world in trouble. Lorne and some of the Marines have just left to get them."

"Understood, Colonel. We'll be ready."

Moments later Sheppard noticed Beckett and a small army of medical personnel walk into the Gate Room with a variety of gurneys and medical supplies. Sheppard smiled when he caught Beckett's eye, knowing that an equal array of activities were underway in the Infirmary.

Sheppard descended halfway down the stairs while Beckett walked up an equal distance. "Any guesses what's happened, Colonel?"

"None. The planet is supposedly uninhabited, so no natives to attack this time. Could be Wraith. If McKay was on the team I could guess that he stubbed his toe."

"Now, now, Colonel," Beckett gently scolded his friend.

"You know Rodney thinks the world is ending if he gets a hangnail."

"Yes, I see him all the time with one or another problem so I fully understand. Let's hope it's just someone trying to give him some competition."

Carson could sense John's anxiousness so he tried to distract John as best he could while they waited. "So, I hear we have some new residents."

"Yeah, Lorne was doing the show and tell thing with eight new Marines earlier today. I had lunch with them and was doing my bit when all of this started."

John turned when he sensed someone else move up behind him. Find Teyla at his side, he explained what was happening.

Carson asked who was on the team; both he and Teyla were stunned when John told them Dayton was a member of the team, knowing what this must be doing to John. Teyla reached out and placed a hand on Sheppard's arm, murmuring reassurances. "Lorne is good. He'll do everything he can. You know that, John."

"I know. I just want to be there. I NEED to be there. I SHOULD be there. I can't stand this not doing anything idea. God, it must have just killed Elizabeth all those years to have to stay behind, waiting and wondering while we ran off to save the galaxy. I never really appreciated what she had to go through while we were off fighting the bad guys."

"Her job was never easy, especially at times like this. But you are strong. You can handle it just as well as she did."

"I'm not so sure about that." He rubbed his hands across his face, hiding his face for a moment while he tried to calm his worst fears and deal with the damned WAITING.

Checking his watch for about the hundredth time since Lorne and his men left, Sheppard paced back and forth the few steps available on the staircase landing. Both Carson and Teyla knew how desperately unhappy John was feeling at the moment, but they also knew there was nothing they could do to make it better. Instead, they did the only thing they could do – stay with him and do their best to give him something else to focus on while he waited.

As Sheppard was turning to pace back the other way, his head snapped up as they all heard the gate activate. Launching up the stairs as Carson rapidly descended the stairs, John raced to Chuck's side. The vortex of the wormhole materialized, followed by Chuck announcing, "We have Major Lorne's GDO."

"Open the iris!" Sheppard ordered, even though Chuck's hand was already moving to open the door so their guys could come back home.

Approximately 15 seconds later people began to stream through the gate, first the heavily armed Marines, then two Marines supporting a clearly injured third person between them. A few more seconds, and another pair of Marines came through supporting another injured person. Usually Sheppard would have counted the people as they came through the gate but this time he was too distracted.

Another pair of Marines appeared, this time carrying someone, one supporting the head and the other the feet. Sheppard couldn't tell who was injured, but what he could see made his blood run cold – blood! Several of the guys were covered in blood or something that looked a lot like blood.

Another cluster of people came through followed by Lorne, who ordered, "Shut it down!" The gate deactivated leaving the sound of the medical personnel checking out the status of the injured.

John flew down the stairs as fast as his feet would carry him to see for himself what was happening. By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, the last injured person had been laid flat on the Gate Room floor and another person was kneeling next to him performing CPR. One Marine handled the chest compressions while another blew air into the injured man's lungs. John was making his way through the crowded floor when Carson and his team reached the patient in cardiac arrest. John stepped aside to allow the doctor to do his job and try to restart the patient's heart. The patient was loaded onto the gurney, the person doing chest compressions hopped on top and continued to keep the injured man's blood circulating while the gurney rolled.

John searched the faces of the people left but couldn't find Dayton. His heart racing, John looked for Lorne. Finding him off to one side, Lorne was removing his helmet and handing his weapons to one of the awaiting Gate Room personnel. Lorne was covered with dirt and looked like he'd been in a dust storm.

"Lorne, what happened?"

"It looks like it was an earthquake, Colonel. Appears to just have been really bad timing. Our people were starting to hike toward the readings they'd been sent to investigate when the quake hit. Part of a hill dislodged and dirt and rock came pouring down on them. Some of them got tossed around pretty bad but one of them got trapped. We dug him out but …" Lorne had a bout of coughing, apparently a residual effect of the dust that he breathed in from the rescue.

"Sorry, dust," he tried to explain before coughing again.

Grabbing Lorne, John said, "Come on. Let's get you to the Infirmary and check on our people." Hustling Lorne through the doorway he guided them to the nearby Infirmary which was bustling with activity.

Helping Lorne to a bed, Sheppard reached up to the wall and grabbed an oxygen mask which he placed on Lorne's face. Turning it on with a thought directed to the city, Sheppard stood by his friend's side and patted his back to help dislodge the dust particles trapped in his airway.

Something behind him caught his attention momentarily. Sheppard looked up to see Carson and a team of his personnel standing around one of the injured. John couldn't see who held their attention – too many people in his way. Taking a deep breath, John gasped when he saw Carson raise a sheet to cover the person's face. "Time of death, 5:32 pm Atlantis time." Carson gave the date which a nurse standing next to him recorded in the record.

John looked around, desperately searching for Dayton's face among the crowded room. He knew he should breath, move, do something to find his partner but his feet wouldn't move. His hand that had rested on Lorne's back had grabbed Lorne's arm and was squeezing. He felt Lorne's hand grip his and hold tight.

Carson suddenly appeared at Lorne's side and said, "Major, are you injured?"

"He can't breathe. Dust." Sheppard reported.

"Carson, what just happened?"

"I'm sorry, Colonel, but the damage was too serious. We weren't able to save him."

John felt like he was going to pass out. His world was spinning and he felt like he was losing control. John Sheppard never lost control. He didn't know how to lose control. This was not something he knew how to do. As he felt more light headed, his attention snapped back to the moment when he heard a familiar voice and felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You ok, John?" Dayton asked.

Fierce, tough, stubborn John Sheppard felt tears come to his eyes as he looked into Dayton's eyes. Relief washed over him. So overcome with relief was he that Sheppard took Dayton in his arms and hugged him close. One hand grabbed Dayton's head and stroke his hair as he tried to regain control of his emotions.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Finally feeling a bit more in control despite the onslaught of relief and emotion, John took a step back only to gasp when he took in the sight before him: Dayton's shirt was drenched in blood. With eyes wide, he demanded, "Are you hurt? What's wrong?"

"John! I'm ok! Relax. The blood's not mine. It just got on me while we were trying to save …"

John grappled him into another hug before Dayton pulled back, sternly warning, "John, remember! We're in public! Get yourself under control!"

Taking the order to heart, John inhaled deeply and tried to let the Colonel in him take charge of the situation. "Good. Report."

"We went through the Gate and were only about a mile away when the ground started shaking – really shaking. I've been through quakes in California before, but I've never felt anything like this. Really intense shaking. It knocked us all off our feet and there was no way we could stand back up.

"Before we really knew what was happening, dirt came rolling down the hillside. Two of us were lucky – we sort of rode it down. Dr. McIntyre was right next to me. She twisted her leg badly. I told her to get back to the Gate to call for help – shouldn't have made her do that," he rebuked himself. "Stupid, stupid."

"You did the right thing. Go on."

"The two others weren't so lucky. When the ground stopped shaking I got back to where I thought the other two might be. I found one of the Marines easily and got him out. The other one was buried deeper. I was digging when Lorne and his men arrived. They took over and found him. He wasn't breathing so …"

"Ok. I've got the picture. Good job! You handled yourself well."

Lifting the mask off his face, Lorne affirmed John's analysis. "He did great! When we got there he was digging with his bare hands like a man possessed."

Carson put the mask back on Lorne's face and scolded him for taking it off. "It can wait, Major. Colonel, if you don't mind, I need you out of here so I can finish my job. Off you go, now."

"Ok. I'll be back. Thanks, Lorne. Really, thanks." He squeezed Lorne's arm before leaving the Infirmary with Dayton by his side. They made their way to Dayton's quarters so he could get rid of the bloody, dirty clothes. In the hallways outside his quarters they met up with three of the new Marines who took in the state of one of the few people they had met so far in their time in Atlantis.

Doing a good job of keeping their thoughts to themselves, they saw the blood and dirt and torn uniform, not knowing what had happened since their introduction just a couple of hours earlier in the day.

Sheppard saw the looks on their faces. "Looks worse than it is," he explained as they entered Dayton's quarters. The smile on Dayton's face helped to allay their concerns. As the door closed, Sheppard heard one of the Marines say, "Shit! What have we gotten ourselves into?"

Behind the closed doors, John grappled Dayton again and stroked his back, taking comfort in the assurance of touch. "I was so afraid. I thought I'd lost you. Bad. Bad. It was really bad. You're too important to me."

Tears came to both men's eyes. John heard a quiet voice speak into his ear. "I love you, John Sheppard."

"I love you, too."

They were each reluctant to break their physical connection, but Dayton finally stepped back and said, "John, I need to shower and change clothes and I'm sure you've got to do some Colonel stuff. I'm not the only person that needs your attention."

Kissing Dayton, John nodded and let his partner strip off the bloody shirt. John stepped to the door as Dayton stepped into the bathroom. John returned to the Control Room to update the others waiting there for information. After checking on the other off-world teams and making sure that the city wasn't about to fall apart, Sheppard returned to the Infirmary to check on Lorne.

The Infirmary was more quiet now than it had been earlier. Lorne's jacket had been removed and someone had wiped some of the dirt off his face. The oxygen mask was no longer present.

"Ready to run a marathon, Major?"

"Feels like I already did," he smiled up at his friend.

"Good job, Lorne. Good job."

"Hey, Dayton had done most of the work by the time we got there. He did a great job, John. Really did." He paused and added, "He's a keeper, John. I think you've met your match. Don't let him go."

"You know I want to, Evan. But there are some real constraints on us because of where we are, what I do, and …"

"John, I don't care. We'll deal with it!"

Sighing, John said, "We'll talk more about this later."

"You bet your ass we will."

Carson appeared holding a computer pad which he was studying intently. "Well, Major, it looks like you'll live to fight another day. Now, get out of here so I've got room for sick people! But I don't want you doing anything strenuous for at least 72 hours. Doctor's orders! You hear me?"

"Does that include paperwork?" Lorne asked playfully.

"Sounds right to me," Carson agreed, knowing John's hatred of paperwork and Lorne's skill at handling Sheppard's work.

"Thanks, doc," John joked.

"Take him to his quarters, Colonel." John helped Lorne up off the bed and walked beside the man to his quarters.

At Lorne's doorway, John asked, "Do you need anything?"

"A long, hot shower and clean clothes."

"I'll tell the city to give you unlimited hot water," John joked. "Seriously, if you need anything, anything at all, you call me. I'm here for you buddy."

"Thanks, John." Lorne entered his room and the door closed.

John returned to Dayton's quarters to find his partner toweling off after his shower. "Lucy! I'm home!" John called out, knowing that if his new Marines had been present, they wouldn't have gotten that reference either.

"Well, now, you look much better than you were."

Wrapping Dayton is a bear hug, John kissed him and lifted the naked man off his feet, hugging and twirling him around. "You scared the crap out of me today. Don't ever do that again."

"Deal." Sealing their deal with a passionate kiss, John held Dayton closely. When the kiss ended, John touched his forehead to Dayton's. "I love you. Am I'm never going to let you go."

"John, I seem to have fewer clothes on than you. Either I should get dressed or you should get naked."

"I vote for the me getting naked plan."

"Me, too."

Moving apart briefly, John shed his jacket, pulled his t-shirt over his head, kicked off his boots, and dropped his pants and underwear. Standing before Dayton wearing only his dog tags and a smile, John moved in for another kiss.

Without letting go of his boyfriend, John and Dayton moved to the bed. John lowered himself first and then pulled Dayton down on top of him. Their day had been an absolute rollercoaster of actions and emotions, leaving both of them vulnerable and in need of the comfort only the other could provide.

Looking into Dayton's intense blue eyes, John said, "I need you inside me now. I need to feel you. I need to be with you. I need to be one with you."

"Lube. Beside the bed. Now!"

John broke their embrace only long enough to reach a few feet away to grab the lube. Not caring about smearing excess lube onto the sheets, John filled his hand and roughly worked it into himself with one hand while spreading lube on Dayton's erection with the other. His task completed, John spread his legs, lifting them to allow Dayton access.

"Take me, now!"

Not taking his usual time to prep his partner and ease into their joining, Dayton placed his erection against John and pushed inside. Dayton pushed through pain, anxiety, worry, love, devotion, and a thousand other emotions as he entered John. Planted firmly inside John's body, he leaned forward to lock his lips on John's. Their mating was hard, fast and rough, which is exactly what they both desired and needed. They needed the intensity. Holding one another's lips with their own, Dayton plowed into John over and over again. Panting, moaning, grappling, they fucked, trying if possible to crawl inside one another. They each needed the raw emotion and assurance of the other.

John begged, "Fuck me. Fuck me. Fuck me."

"What do you want? Tell me!"

"I want you to fuck me. Please."

"Tell me!"

"FUCK ME!"

"Again!"

"FUCK ME!"

"I don't believe you. Tell me like you mean it!"

Crying out in anguish and need, John begged Dayton. "Oh, God. Please fuck me." Tears in his eyes, John let all of his bottled up emotions from the day come blasting out. Throwing his head back on the pillow, the tears flowed freely. No longer able to speak coherently, tears flowed down Dayton's checks as freely as John's. In the midst of their tears Dayton climaxed, leaving a part of himself inside his man.

Their coupling completed, Dayton slipped from John's body and they reversed positions. Raising his own legs to make room for John, Dayton repeated John's earlier preparations and moved John into position. John slipped inside his lover's body, plunging in, pulling out, thrashing, pounding, brutalizing his lover's body as he climbed to the peak of release. Dayton lifted his legs higher to give John better access and begged John to take him.

All too soon John, too, reached his climax. Slipping from Dayton's body, they were reluctant to release their hold on one another. They rolled onto their sides, face to face. Their emotions spent, the two men held tightly to one another.

Ten minutes later when they had returned to some semblance of normal, John looked into those wonderful blue eyes that had first grabbed his attention and said, "Dayton, will you marry me?"

Understanding with just a glance that John was deadly serious, Dayton answered in kind. "Absolutely, yes."

"Good." Assured that they were together and were going to remain so, they relaxed and fell asleep in the other's arms.

 

Chapter Thirteen

The next morning at breakfast, John and Dayton informed their closets friends of their decision. Sitting around the table with Lorne, Ronon, and Teyla, John asked Teyla if she would conduct a traditional Athosian joining ceremony for them. They asked Lorne and Ronon to stand with them and serve as witnesses to their vows. All three readily agreed to the requests.

Speaking quietly to their three best friends gathered around them, John addressed the unspoken problem. "Many in the Air Force higher-ups wouldn't understand, so we're going to keep this just between the five of us gathered around this table for now. I want to shout the news from the top of the central spire in the middle of Atlantis for the entire world to hear, but I know I can't do that. What I can do is state my intentions before you, the people most important to us in the world."

Teyla, Ronon and Lorne all nodded in agreement, knowing that this was the way it had to proceed, for if the US military learned of that one of their officers had married another man, they would not rest until he was publicly humiliated and removed from service. None of them wanted to even consider that as a possibility.

Lorne had spent much of the previous evening thinking about the current situation, finally having reached the conclusion that the risk was very small. "John, I don't think it's very likely that the US military will ever make a move against you for one very simple reason: your gene. You've got the strongest expression of the Ancient gene in anyone we've found. You have a connection with this city and with Ancient technology unrivaled by anyone else. A lot of people have had the gene therapy, but let's be honest: none of them can come close to your abilities. A lot of people can pilot jumpers and be glorified power switches for Ancient technology, but you alone are able to "connect" with the city like you have. She likes you, John. While the military leadership is stubborn and their attitudes on this issue are hopelessly outdated, they are still realists and I can't believe they would willingly remove such a valuable asset to the future survival of this city … and Earth."

John smiled as he listened to Lorne run through what he and Dayton had discussed the previous evening. "Sounds good, but I don't want to count on anything that is so much out of my own control. I should tell you about one other thing: I might invite another guest – a special guest from Earth. I don't know if he can come, but I want to ask him. I'll think about it and let you all know later what I decide to do."

The people around the table were baffled. John had never spoken of any friends from Earth that were important enough – or able – to travel to Pegasus for such a personal event. Teyla put into words what they were all wondering: "Who?"

"I'm not going to say. You'll just have to trust me while I think it over."

That afternoon, John wrote a simple, well-worded e-mail message to a friend back at Stargate Command, carefully outlining (in code, of course) what had happened and what he was planning to do. After reviewing his message at least five or six times he was satisfied with the wording. Muttering to himself, "You must be nuts, Sheppard," he clicked on the SEND MESSAGE button and his message went into the cue for the next automatic connection with Earth. Now that their power problems were less of an issue, several times each week Atlantis dialed home to Earth to send and receive a brief data burst. Not only did this allow expedition personnel to remain in contact with family and friends, it also gave them more regular access to Earth news and entertainment, something that the expedition personnel valued.

The remainder of the afternoon and evening passed quickly, with an unexpected situation with one of their regular trading partners. Fortunately the problem turned out to be an internal political dispute that was readily resolved without serious inconvenience. John and Dayton spent a quiet evening in John's quarters "basking" in the presence of the other. They didn't talk a lot, but simply sat close as they lounged and read (a book in Dayton's case, a golf magazine in John's case).

 

Chapter Fourteen

The next afternoon John was in the Control Room checking in with Chuck on the status of off-world teams when the Gate activated.

"Unscheduled off-world activation," Chuck announced.

The wormhole formed, followed seconds later by Chuck announcing, "We had a GDO. It's Earth! They're requesting permission to send someone through." Several people exchanged surprised looks; this was a highly unusual event. Sending data bursts was one thing, but sending people between galaxies was still relatively unusual.

"Drop the shield," Sheppard ordered, moving to the balcony railing to get a look at who was paying them an unexpected visit.

Their visitor turned out to be two people: General Jack O'Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson. O'Neill dropped his backpack, waited while Dr. Jackson joined him, and then watched the Gate shut down. With his usual, mischievous, charming look, O'Neill looked up to the Control Room and said, "Honey, I'm home!"

A look of utter astonishment passed over Sheppard's face, soon to be replaced by a big smile, a smile matched by the one of Daniel Jackson's face.

Bounding down the stairs, Sheppard ran up to O'Neill and Jackson and asked, "General, Dr. Jackson – I didn't know you were coming to Atlantis. Why didn't you tell us?" Knowing O'Neill's fondness for dessert, he added, "We could have baked a cake?"

O'Neill's eyebrows rose at the word "cake". "I like cake. But if there's no cake, pie will do."

The smile on John Sheppard's face threatened to split his face into two distinct parts. He positively beamed with pleasure, having to use every ounce of his control to keep from hugging the General. He held his ground but did lean in and whisper, "What are you doing here?" Thinking quickly, the smile vanished from his face as John asked, "Oh, no! Please tell me this is not about my e-mail? You should know that I'm not changing my mind about this – I'm deadly serious."

"Well, that's good," O'Neill responded. "I can't have you getting married if you're not serious about the young man."

Sheppard was at an absolute loss for words. His mind was racing in 72 different directions simultaneously and was incapable of completely any thought. As a result he just stood in front of O'Neill, met his gaze, and felt his mouth drop open in astonishment.

"You, … You, …" Pause. "You mean you're not mad at me? You're ok with this?"

It was now Daniel Jackson's turn to lean in toward John and whisper, "We're more than ok, Colonel. We're here to be part of it. We understand."

"I don't know what to say, guys."

Jack echoed Daniel's earlier statement, "We understand."

"Yes, John, we understand." The true meaning of the words finally began to percolate through John's brain.

"Really?" he whispered. "Really?"

"We understand, John." Jack reiterated.

"Really?"

"You already said that, Sheppard."

"I know, but really?"

"Yes, really."

"General, I knew that you knew about me and supported me, but I never had any idea. The two of you?"

Daniel's turn: "Yes, John, we're together, the two of us, Jack and me, we understand. We've gone through the same thing. We've had the same discussions, the same debates, the same arguments you must have been struggling with lately. This is important. It is important for us to be here to support you personally."

"Sheppard, we can't announce it in the next SGC newsletter – if we had one – but I can be here as your friend. Daniel just wanted an excuse to see Atlantis again."

Daniel slapped a hand across Jack's arm, "That's not true! Yes, I wanted to see the city, but we're here together for you."

Looking at Daniel, Jack said, "So, when do we get to meet the lucky fella?"

"Soon. Tonight. Now. Any of the above. General, I don't know what to say."

"Clearly."

"Ignore him, John, Jack enjoys throwing people off-balance. He's a twisted, demented little man," Daniel joked.

"Hey, not so little! And I don't get out much anymore. Don't try to take my fun away."

"I've very happy that you're here, guys. More happy than I can begin to tell you. I'm also surprised you didn't come by ship."

Daniel bet Jack to the punch on that one: "Oh, please, do you think one ship could begin to contain his ego?"

Lifting his eye brows and staring at Daniel, Jack said, "Careful, Daniel, or you're walking home." Turning back to John he added, "Being a General usually sucks, but occasionally it has its rewards – like this. Anyway, Sheppard, I think we'd better get upstairs. There's a couple dozen people just itching to get down here and find out about our special surprise inspection tour of Atlantis."

"Yes, sir. Right this way, General, Dr. Jackson." John grabbed for the General's backpack but Jack batted his hand away. "Eh, watch it. I'm not so old I can't carry my own damned bag." Picking up his backpack, the General followed Colonel Sheppard up the stairs to the Control Room where John made the formal introductions. Many people knew of the General, some had met him or seen him at different Air Force functions, but for the most part all they knew was his name and rank; the man himself was a mystery. As for Dr. Jackson, his name and reputation were legendary throughout the SGC and Atlantis.

 

Chapter Fifteen

Word of O'Neill and Jackson's arrival spread throughout the city at lightning fast speed. By the time John got the two men settled into the guest quarters a short while later there might have been one scientist somewhere in the far reaches of the city who hadn't heard the news.

At 6:00, John and Dayton arrived at the door to Jack and Daniel's quarters and rang the bell. Seconds later Daniel opened the door and greeted the two men. Shaking Dayton's hand and introducing himself, Daniel guided them into the suite to where O'Neill lay sprawled on one of the two couches reading a report.

"General," John greeted.

Before he could say another word, Jack looked up. "Can you believe it, Sheppard, he's making me read a report while I'm on vacation. Be careful about marrying a scientist, Sheppard – they get an idea in their heads and they just won't let it go!"

Dropping the papers he had been reading to the floor, Jack rose from the couch and stepped forward to shake Dayton's hand. "Jack O'Neill. Nice to meet you. So you're the young man who's hooked out little Johnny, are you?"

Thirty seconds into the conversation and already O'Neill absolutely and completely flew in opposition to everything Dayton had ever expected from a military General. "Yes, sir, that would be me."

"Drop the 'sir' crap."

"Yes, please," Daniel added. "His ego doesn't need anymore stroking."

"Want to stroke something else in its place, Daniel?"

"Be nice to me and we'll talk."

While he had spent time with both O'Neill and Jackson separately, John was seeing an entirely new side to the two men when they interacted with one another. Dayton could see immediately why John was so impressed with the General. When John had told him an hour ago who had come through the Gate he had barely been able to get the message out; he instantly sensed a connection with the other couple. And anyone who would cross two galaxies to support John instantly had Dayton's affection and support.

Without realizing it, Dayton had been holding Jack's hand throughout the entire exchange. Looking down, Jack observed, "You'd probably better let go – my husband doesn't like me getting too close to other men."

"Please, most days I'm willing to auction you off to any bidder."

"Sheppard, see what awaits you when you become an old married couple?"

Wrapping his arm around Dayton's shoulder and pulling him close for quick kiss, he said, "I can't wait."

"Aw, Jack. Aren't they cute?"

"Yes, Daniel, on that one I have to agree with you. Now come on, hungry General. There was pie promised to me!"

"Let's go eat."

Leading his guests toward the Mess Hall, John explained, "For your dining pleasure this evening gentlemen, I've reserved a table in one of our finest bistros. The place is all the rage – takes weeks to get your name on the list to get in. But I pulled a couple of strings and got us in."

"That's my boy!" the General commended. "Bribery and intimidation – two of my favorite instruments!"

John and Jack walked side by side into the Mess Hall while Daniel walked beside Dayton. Rolling his eyes, Daniel looked at Dayton, "They're like twins separated at birth, aren't they."

"Yes, they do seem to take after one another. They're our boys, aren't they?" he added in a quiet voice directed at Daniel.

"Yes, they are – for which I am eternally grateful."

The four men worked their way through the Mess Hall line grabbing their food. With full trays (including lemon meringue pie) they made their way across the crowded room to Sheppard's favorite table out on the balcony overlooking the ocean. Walking through the room, countless people greeted the General, including several Marines who made moves to salute. Jack, however, didn't want to turn dinner into a formal event. "At ease, guys. Eat your dinner. We'll do the saluting thing later when I'm on duty."

Settling into their table, the four men engaged in light conversation, catching up on gossip from SGC and the news from Earth. Others seated within earshot heard repeated laughter and saw a relaxed group. Many had worried when O'Neill and Jackson showed up suddenly and unannounced, but their behavior in the Mess Hall seemed to allay some of those fears.

About a half hour into dinner, Ronon joined the group, getting a hardy welcome from O'Neill. "Ronon! Hey big guy. How ya doin'?"

"Good. O'Neill. Why are you here?"

"Subtle."

"Why are you here?"

"I'm here to have dinner with Sheppard."

"Why are you here?"

"Only good, Ronon. I'm here only for good reasons." Meeting and holding Ronon's gaze, O'Neill seemed to communicate with Ronon that there was no need to worry.

"Good." Sitting down at the table, Ronon added, "You're not taking Sheppard away from us." This wasn't a question but rather a statement, a challenge. "Don't even think about it," he warned.

"Sheppard's not going anywhere, Ronon." Turning his attention from Ronon to Sheppard, he asked, "Is he always this stubborn?"

"That's one of the reasons why we love him, General."

"Good. Keep him close, Sheppard."

"I plan to, sir."

Pushing his chair back from the table, O'Neill said, "Fellas, sorry to eat and run, but I've got to go see a man about a horse." Seeing the confusion on Ronon's face, O'Neill apologized, "Sorry Ronon, an old Earth expression. Sheppard, can you and Dayton join me and Daniel in our quarters in an hour?"

Looking at the General with uncertainty, John answered, "Of course, sir. Anything I can do to help, sir?"

"Nope. I've got it covered. You all stay and catch up. See you in an hour."

Jack returned his tray to the kitchen and walked out of the Mess Hall with his hands in his pockets, whistling as he walked. Making his way to the nearest transporter, Jack made a note to himself to find out if Ancient transporters could be retrofitted to the SGC. Transporters certainly saved a lot of time and cut down on unnecessary walking.

O'Neill knew the layout of Atlantis very well. Besides, even though he didn't advertise the fact to anyone besides Daniel, his version of the Ancient gene was just as strong as Sheppard's. The two of them were unique with regard to the expression of the Ancient gene (among other things).

Finding his intended destination with no difficulty, the door he sought opened upon his approach. O'Neill found what he was seeking, a room full of Marines. The room was the recreation room frequented by the Marines. All eyes focused on him as he walked through the door, immediately followed by several dozen Marines jumping to their feet and saluting. O'Neill returned the salute, ordering "At ease, gentlemen."

Quickly scoping out the room he spotted an open space on one of the couches. O'Neill made his way to the spot, sitting down next to a couple of clearly shocked Marines. "So fellas, what's happening? How's life treating you these days?"

Several were too stunned to speak, but one of the newest Marines clearly didn't know anything about the General other than his rank and his name which was printed on his jacket. When no one else responded, he decided someone should. "Good, sir. And you?"

"Knees bother me a bit – just old age – otherwise pretty good." Jack spotted a couple of bottles of beer sitting on the table in front of the sofa. With a look of longing, he asked, "Got anymore of those around?"

The Marines were (1) unaccustomed to spending time with a general, and (2) were even more unaccustomed to a general asking them for beer. Again, the new guy seemed to have less anxiety about the whole situation. He grabbed one out of the refrigerator a few feet away, opened it and handed it to O'Neill.

"You're a prince among men." Raising the bottle in a toast he said, "Here's to you guys. From all reports you're doing a first rate job."

The new guy led his fellow Marines in lifting their bottles to join with the general's toast. Spotting a large flat panel television mounted on the wall, O'Neill asked, "Got any hockey games to play on that thing?"

Someone stood, activated the screen and read off the menu of hockey games – both of them.

"Two games! You've got two games!"

"Sorry, sir. It's on our wish list for Earth."

"Can I borrow someone's little ear thingy to call the Control Room?" One of the Marines removed his headphone and handed it over to the General. "Sheppard! You there? This is O'Neill."

"Sheppard here. What do you need, sir?"

"We need hockey! Can you have your guys dial up Earth and tell them I want the following." He named off half a dozen games he could think of off-hand. "You've got guys down here with just two games to watch. I don't know about you Sheppard, but to me that sounds like cruel and unusual punishment."

"On it, sir. Sheppard out."

Jack handed the headset back to the person who had passed it to him originally. "Thanks."

Less than five minutes later Sheppard's voice came over the city-wide loudspeaker. "General O'Neill. This is Colonel Sheppard. You're request has been handled. Check the menu now. Sheppard out."

The onscreen menu was refreshed and Jack broke into a big smile. "Now we're getting there. Go for that second one – it's a great game." Relaxing with these guys was serving double duty for Jack: helping him do the meet and greet thing that as a general was his responsibility, and helping him organize his thoughts for his meeting with the guys later.

Pucks flew across the screen, men cheered and booed particular plays, and generally a good time was had by all. Noticing the time, O'Neill announced, "Well, guys, I hate to leave, but duty calls. I've got to go off and play general for awhile."

He heard more relaxed farewells when he left, feeling that his mission had been successful. "Night, General."

"Night," O'Neill waved as he headed to the door to make his way to Sheppard's quarters. Moments later he was outside his destination. A quick check with the city showed him that there were three people in the room (even told him where they were in the room). Rather than wait for one of them to get up to open the door, he sent a reflexive command to the city to let him in. The door whisked opened and then closed after he was inside.

Removing his jacket he tossed it onto a nearby chair before going over to the sofas to join the guys. Before anything else, though, he leaned over and gave Daniel a quick kiss. "Miss me?"

"Always."

"Not trying to auction me off on E-Bay?"

"No. Why? What have you done now?"

"Me? Nothing! Just being a good General."

Eyebrows raised all around. Rather than bear the conversation, he explained. "I just went down to spend some time with some of the Marines. I like to get away and spend some time with the guys whenever I visit a base."

Sheppard smiled and nodded his approval. "Damn, you're good."

"Oh, please, John, don't tell him that!"

Jack smiled. "See, Daniel, he appreciates me! Maybe I should trade you in for Sheppard."

Dayton sat up straighter. "Back off buddy – he's mine."

O'Neill laughed. This actually gave him the perfect segue into the conversation he wanted to have with the guys.

"Speaking of that, young man: just what are your intentions with our boy here?"

For once at a loss for words, Dayton stammered for a moment before getting his footing; this was, after all, his first encounter with the legendary General. He put his hand in John's hand, entwining their fingers. Lifting the hand to his lips he placed a gentle kiss on John's fingers and gave the hand a quick squeeze. "Well, General. This is the way it is: I love this man, and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. He is the one for me and I don't ever want to let him go."

Jack nodded his approval. He glanced to his side to check out Daniel's reaction, finding a smile on his partner's face. "Sounds reasonable to me. Are you asking us for his hand in marriage?"

"His hand, his lips, his nose, his butt, his little …"

"Hey, hey, hey! What did we agree about the 'little' stuff?"

"Relax, John. I've seen it all and I think we can agree that "little" is not a reasonable term."

John squeezed Dayton's hand and cut off the predicted complaint. "In the showers at the SGC! That's all!"

"I figured as much. You don't strike me as the one-night stand kind of guy. Somehow I can't picture you working your way through the men of the military."

"Back to the mission at hand for a moment." Daniel steered the conversation back to the subject at hand. Seeing a nod of Jack's head, Daniel offered their verdict. "John Sheppard is very important to us. If he loves you, which he clearly does, then we approve. We want him to be happy, and seeing you two together, you clearly are happy."

Jack picked up on his partner's comments and added, "We are pleased to offer our blessing, for what it's worth."

Dayton answered for both of them. "It's worth a great deal to us. I don't know either of you the way that John does, but I know him well enough to see that you've made him very happy. What makes him happy makes me happy."

"We accept your blessing." Tears were threatening to well up in Sheppard's eyes. He couldn't believe it – he hadn't cried in twenty years, not even when Johnny Cash died – but now twice in just a couple of weeks it had happened to him.

Saved by the bell, Sheppard moved toward the door when the door chime rang. Calling out over his shoulder, "Everyone decent?"

"Unfortunately," Dayton yelled back.

Opening the door, John found his callers were Ronon, Teyla and Lorne. Worried looks on all three faces, they looked at John, glanced into the room, and asked with their eyes just what was going on.

"Come on in and join the celebration," John invited.

"What are we celebrating, Colonel?" Teyla asked, not wanting why the General and Dr. Jackson were present on Atlantis.

Ushering his new guests in, O'Neill beckoned the three to come on. Jack raised his eyebrow and looked questioningly at Sheppard, asking silently if they knew. John nodded, answering, "They know, but they're the only ones."

He nodded his approval. "Sheppard, we need refreshments for these people. What kind of a host are you, anyway?"

"I'll run to the Mess Hall and get something …" John offered, only to have O'Neill wave him back over. Daniel reached to one side where he had stowed his backpack. Unzipping one pocket he reached in and pulled out two bottles of a very nice French champagne. Handing the bottles to Jack, Daniel rose from the sofa and retrieved a set of champagne glasses that he must have set up on the desk earlier.

Jack opened one bottle and filled all of the glasses, one by one handing them out to the guests. Raising his glass, he offered, "To John and Dayton. May they be blessed with many, many years of happiness."

One by one the glasses clinked in affirmation with clear relief on the faces of Ronon, Teyla, and Lorne. Always the realist, Lorne hated having to break the mood, but he stated the obvious anyway, "Thanks, General. But this doesn't change the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy." Looking specifically at Ronon and Teyla, he said, "We still have to keep this private, just between us, or some rigid zealot at the Pentagon could come gunning for John."

For the second time in the evening, Jack appreciated an easy opening for something he wanted to say. "Well, Lorne, now that you mention it, there is one other fact I need to share with the group."

All faces turned to the General expectantly, wondering what else he had in mind. "I've been working with the President a lot lately on a number of things. One thing that he really wants to do – maybe with a little encouragement from me and a few other Generals – is to get rid of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and clearly state that all men and women, regardless of sexual orientation, are welcome to serve in the U.S. Military."

Lorne's inhaled and held his breath, not quite sure if his ears were hearing what the General was saying. "General? Are you saying …"

"Yes, Major, he announced the policy about an hour ago. John and I and all the others like us throughout the ranks can finally be upfront and honest about who we are."

"About fucking time!" Ronon observed.

"Ronon, you are a man of few words, but the words you pick are damned good ones!" O'Neill smiled.

"Here, here," Daniel agreed, raising his glass for a new toast.

Dayton turned to John and whispered in his ear, "I love you!" They kissed quickly and turned back to take part in the toast.

"So, Sheppard," the General began. "Tomorrow morning I would like to address all of the personnel of the Atlantis expedition to inform them of this new policy. Send out an e-mail or whatever you do to tell everyone to gather in the Gate Room at 0800."

"Yes, sir!" Sheppard stepped to the laptop on his desk to write a one-line message telling everyone to assemble at 0800 at the request of General O'Neill.

"This is all happening so fast," Teyla observed.

"We've actually been working on this for weeks. John's e-mail to me yesterday just gave us the final push we needed to get the damned thing finished."

Ronon observed/asked, "O'Neill was your special guest? Gutsy move, Sheppard."

"Not everyone is going to take this news well," Dayton noted. "There's a lot of good guys here on this base, but there's a lot of guys who will freak out when they hear this news. I just urge caution while everyone gets used to the change."

Daniel agreed with the assessment. "Wise words. This is a big change for a lot of people."

 

Chapter Sixteen

The next morning Sheppard and Dayton met Jack and Daniel at 0600 for an hour long run throughout one of the scenic routes of the city. Over the course of the hour they passed numerous others out for their morning jog, including Lorne and Ronon, and a number of Marines. Everyone greeted O'Neill, all of which he acknowledged with a friendly wave.

After showering, changing clothes, and eating breakfast, the four men moved to the Control Room. Dayton observed to Daniel, "The General looks absolutely as calm as can be – you'd never know that he was about to go in front of 250 people and deliver a major policy change on behalf of the President of the United States."

"He's good," Daniel acknowledged with a smile and easy nod of his head.

At 0759, O'Neill and Sheppard moved to the edge of the balcony overlooking the huge open Gate Room below. The room was filled to capacity with Atlantis personnel, as were the stairs and all parts of the balcony. Usually the news from Earth wasn't in favor of Atlantis, so no one knew what fresh hell awaited them this time. Budget cuts? More personnel changes? Withdrawal from Atlantis and Pegasus? Guesses ran wild for 60 seconds until, at 0800 exactly, Sheppard asked for everyone's attention.

"Attention all Atlantis personnel. I'm pleased to introduce General Jack O'Neill from Earth with an important announcement. General, not everyone can physically be here in this room at this moment, so we're broadcasting your remarks throughout the city so that everyone can hear what you have to say. General?"

He stepped back so that focus was fully on O'Neill. Never a shy, retiring, quiet sort of man, O'Neill's voice boomed out clearly so that everyone could clearly hear his words. "Men and women of the Atlantis expedition. I bring your greetings from Earth. Yesterday afternoon our Commander-in-Chief, the President of the United States, issued an order that, effective immediately, the policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is rescinded. Effective immediately, the United States will no longer discriminate in any way against gay men and women who serve, or who wish to serve, in the United States armed forces.

"Let's cut right to it: some of you will welcome this news and some of you will hate this news. Bottom line: I don't care. These are the orders of our Commander-in-Chief and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We are military men and women, we follow orders, that's what we do. That's what I will do. That's what you will do. Do I make myself clear?"

The military men and women assembled shouted, "Sir, yes sir!" to the General's question. O'Neill paused to survey the crowd assembled before him, seeing a variety of emotions play out across the faces in the crowd before continuing.

"The fact of the matter is that you and I have been serving with gay men and women all of our careers, usually without ever knowing it. Gay men and women have served in military forces for years: for example, the legendary army of 300 Spartan men who fought an army of thousands, and the army of Alexander the Great.

"This policy change is not putting in place anything that isn't already happening. It just simply states something no one has comfortably spoken about. This is not a license for any outrageous behavior. No one is going to be allowed to fu … uh, "fornicate" in the Mess Hall today any more than they were yesterday." The crowd chuckled.

It was time to draw his remarks to a close. O'Neill's stern military command face was relaxed a bit as he started his concluding remarks. "You people are doing great things under unbelievable conditions. One day in the future, history will remember you and your mission with admiration and gratitude. You are great people doing great work. I ask great things of you, but I know you can deliver. Make me proud. Make your country proud. Make your commander-in-chief proud. That is all. Thank you."

O'Neill stepped back from the railing and received a round of applause and hearty cheers from the crowd below. Ever the strategist, he quickly surveyed the faces scattered around the room to try to see where problems would arise in the days ahead. He was pleasantly surprised to see only a few men standing stoically while others cheered. Sheppard was simultaneously doing the same thing, noting mentally who he had to watch.

As the crowd dispersed and people returned to their work, Sheppard and O'Neill stepped alone into a nearby conference room. As soon as the door was closed, O'Neill asked, "So how many did you count?"

"I counted 8. You?"

"I got 9, but I wasn't sure about the 9th one. So let's go with 8. You know who they all are?"

"Yep. What do you want me to do?"

"Get me and Daniel their names and personnel records. Give us about a half hour to review their records, and then I want to talk with them one by one."

"Yes, sir." Sheppard exited the room to make the General's orders happen. Moments later he stepped back and asked the General to follow him. They grabbed Daniel and moved into an empty office with two computer monitors. "The records you requested are listed on the screens. Just click on the names to access their complete service records."

"Thanks, Sheppard. Daniel, let's get to work; I'll take the first half of the list you take the bottom half."

"I'll be outside, sir."

O'Neill and Jackson were already at work as he left. He found Lorne, Ronon, Teyla and Dayton hovering nearby looking to him questioningly. "Everything ok, Sheppard?" Ronon asked.

"Looks that way. They're reviewing some records, then they want to meet with the people who looked most 'troubled' by the General's announcement."

"Usually you Earth people stick your heads in the sand and ignore what you don't like. O'Neill doesn't do that. He tackles everything head on. He's good."

"Yep, that he is, my friend, that he is."

 

 

Chapter Seventeen

The first of the military men that O'Neill summoned to meet with him was a career military man, 39 years old, and a sergeant in the Air Force. It took nearly 30 seconds after the man entered the room before O'Neill acknowledge his presence and looked up from what he was reading.

"At ease, Sergeant. Have a seat," he gestured to the chair across the table from his own. He laid the papers he had been reading onto the table, folded his hands together, and studied the soldier who sat across the table.

"So, Sergeant. Tell me what you think about this morning's announcement."

Of all the questions the Sergeant had anticipated, this was not one of them. "I'm sorry?" the confused man asked.

"You were in the Gate Room this morning when I reported the President's policy change. I'm asking for your reaction to the President's decision."

"Didn't expect it, sir. But, then, the President doesn't usually check with us before he makes policies about us."

Nodding his head, Jack waited for the man to say more.

One universal truth, Jack had discovered years ago, is that people are uncomfortable with silence. If you simply sit quietly and wait, someone will start talking in most cases and you'll learn a lot more than if you tried to manage the conversation. His observation about human behavior held true.

"We don't get a lot of political news out here on the frontier, sir, so I didn't even know this was under consideration."

Again Jack nodded, kept his hands folded, and held the man's gaze.

"I can't say it's what I would have done, but then they don't pay me to make policy."

"Well, they do pay me to help make policy, and I'm asking for your input."

"Seems a little late for that, sir. You said it's a done deal." Pausing briefly, he continued, "You want me to say it's a bad decision so I'll say it, 'It was a bad decision.'"

"You know that there's a lot of gay folks in the general population?"

"They're got no place in the military with decent men like you and me, sir."

"Ok. When you and I joined the military a lot of years ago, that was the only option we were given. But times have changed."

"Times have changed, all right, and I don't like it. Not one bit, sir. I don't hang out with gay guys and I don't want to."

"You do realize, don't you, Sergeant, that you've served with a number of gay men since you joined up nearly 20 years ago? In fact, right now there's more than a dozen gay men and women who are part of this expedition."

"Damned civilians, scientists. They have no business being on the front line in a situation like this."

"Nope, sorry. I'm talking about military only at the moment."

"I can't believe that, sir."

"Why would I lie to you, Sergeant?"

"Who?"

"The who doesn't matter. All I want to tell you is that without realizing it, you've been serving with gay men and women for years. You never knew, and you wouldn't have known if I hadn't told you. And the truth is, it doesn't matter."

"It matters to me, sir."

"Why?"

"I don't want 'em coming on to me, grabbing my ass, …"

Leaning back in his chair while crossing his arms across his chest, Jack had heard about all he needed to hear. "You need to get over that, Sergeant – not every gay man wants to fuck you. For example, I don't want to fuck you. You're not my type."

Stunned silence followed as the message slowly sank into the Sergeant's brain. This conversation, already in uncharted territory, had just wandered into the Bermuda Triangle.

Meeting the Sergeant's stare, Jack held his eyes. "Yes, Sergeant."

"Huh?"

"Yes, Sergeant, I'm gay. I have been all my life. So I speak with authority on this – not every gay man wants every straight man. I've got a husband at home who takes care of all my emotional and physical needs."

Still utterly stunned, O'Neill sat quietly and let the man mull over the situation.

"You're a faggot?"

O'Neill's eyes widened a bit but otherwise his face revealed nothing. In a calm, flat voice he ordered, "That would be General Faggot, soldier!"

He rose from his chair, holding the man's eyes as he moved. With his hands resting on the edge of the table, O'Neill spoke quietly but menacingly to the man who stood in front of him. "Sergeant, times have changed. Keep up with them or get out of the way." Picking up the papers he had set on the table earlier, Jack looked back up, and added, "And Sergeant, if you ever call me or anyone else 'faggot' again and I hear of it, I'll kick your sorry excuse for an ass from one galaxy to the next. That's a promise from this 'faggot' that you can count on. Dismissed."

The soldier saluted and left the room, glad to be out of the room before his anxiety had produced any more and discomfort.

Moments after the Sergeant left the room, Daniel Jackson came in. "How did it go, Jack?" he asked his partner.

"About like you'd expect. Actually, no, a little better than I expected. He blew it though when he asked me if I was a faggot?"

Even separated by 15 feet of space, Jack could hear the sharp intake of breath from Daniel. After decades spent as a linguist and student of languages, few words riled up Daniel as much as that one.

"Who's next, Daniel?"

"Lieutenant Cole. Shall I send him in?"

"Let's do it and get this done." Daniel exited the room and moments later a young Lieutenant entered the room, crisply saluting upon entering.

"Be seated, Lieutenant."

"Thank you, sir."

"Lieutenant, what do you think of the President's decision that I announced this morning?"

Taking a moment to compose his thoughts, the Lieutenant replied with more thought than Jack had anticipated.

"I'm a bit surprised, sir. No offense, General, but military leadership is not always on the leading edge of these types of issues."

"No offense taken. Explain."

"It's like what you said this morning, sir. Gay guys have been serving for years."

"And …"

"And?"

"And how do you feel about that?"

Uncomfortable talking with the General, and with discussing an issue that was not a standard topic of conversation, the young man decided to go for broke. "I think it's a reasonable move, sir."

"You surprised me, Lieutenant. And not many people surprise me anymore."

"Thank you, I think, sir."

Jack chuckled. "This morning you didn't show any sign of being pleased or pissed or excited or frustrated. Usually that tells me the person has some problem with the issue."

"I understand, General. I really don't see the problem. Some guys get really warped out about this, but I've personally never understood why. I'm not gay, sir. Just serving with someone who is gay isn't going to make me gay or threaten me in any way. I wouldn't become Latino by serving with a Latino soldier. I don't really think of them any differently. It's just another part of a person."

Nodding his head slowly, Jack smiled at the young man. "Well, you're either mature beyond your years, or you're one hell of a good liar, son."

"I'm not a liar, sir. All you have to do is ask my buddies about me trying to bluff at poker. They've got a lot of my money to prove that I'm no good at it, sir."

"Ok, Lieutenant. That's all I needed." When the young man stood up to leave, he saluted. Jack rose and responded in kind, something that not all soldiers received.

"Dismissed."

"Thank you, sir."

The pattern repeated, with Daniel entering the room almost as soon as the young man left. Rather than ask in words, Daniel simply raised his eye brows in question.

"Now that one surprised me, Daniel. Let's remember that one – he's got a good head on his shoulders, as my grandmother would have said."

Walking around the room for a moment to fight off the inevitable stiffening of his muscles, Jack asked, "So how are Sheppard and Lorne doing with their interviews?"

"Pretty much what you would expect."

"Did you finish running Carter's computer analysis thingy on all personnel records?"

"Yes, all finished. It only flagged one person we hadn't – a linguist working in one of the labs. I read through her record and aside from having no people skills whatsoever I don't see a particular problem with her."

"Good."

Interviews continued until lunch, by which time O'Neill was satisfied that he had all the information that the process could reveal. At 12:30 he joined Daniel in the Mess Hall. They sat with Sheppard, Dayton, Ronon and Teyla, where O'Neill wolfed his food.

"Hungry, General," Teyla asked.

"I just love the cooking here," he joked in response. "No, Teyla. While I would rather sit next to a beautiful young woman like you, I want to work the room a little, sit with some of the people having lunch and see how they're doing."

"I see," she responded with a small smile. "Good move."

When the last bite was finished – in record time, perhaps a new personal best – Jack grabbed his coffee cup which was still untouched, and excused himself from his friends. Teyla observed him move from one table to another and then another over the course of the next hour. She admired the man's drive, his concern for the people under his command, and his support for John.

John was family to Teyla, and no one messed with Teyla's family without incurring her wrath. Keeping one eye on the General's progress around the room, she enjoyed talking with her friends. The lunchtime conversation involved nothing strategic or important, but it was very animated and relaxing.

At some point the General refilled his coffee cup and was at a table clear across the room when Teyla's attention was drawn to raised voices coming from the General's direction. All of them heard the commotion, going on guard over the disturbance.

She asked, "What's going on? Is there a problem?" She instinctively reached to her side for her weapon only to remember that she was not wearing her weapon since they were eating lunch and not on a mission.

Ronon and Sheppard rose from the table simultaneously with equal looks of concern and determination. "Come on, let's go check it out."

Daniel and Teyla rose as well, as did Dayton. They all suspected something was wrong, but there was no longer any suspicion when they all saw a lunch tray thrown crashing against the wall. Conversation in the Mess Hall ceased, replaced by silence. The only sound that Teyla heard was the powering on of Ronon's weapon and the sound of their footsteps as they raced across the room to help Jack.

Clearly someone was upset, but Jack appeared to be the picture of calm, cool and collectedness. He sat relaxed, taking a sip from his coffee, keeping one eye on one of his table-mates.

"General?"

"It's ok Sheppard. The Sergeant was just expressing his opinion about me and my mother and a couple of barnyard animals, if I remember correctly."

"Sergeant!" Sheppard shouted at the man under his command.

"I'm not taking orders from some damned fruit!"

"Sergeant! You are addressing a General in the Air Force. You are in gross violation of …"

"Sheppard, I respect the uniform and rank but he's not fit to wear it!"

"That's enough! Guards!" Sheppard called to the MPs who had just arrived. "Take the Sergeant into custody and lock him up in the brig. He's going back to Earth. I'll come down in a few minutes and read him the formal charges against him." The MPs grabbed the Sergeant who had turned the most unhealthy-looking shade of red, clearly wound tighter than was typical.

Through the entire outburst and follow-up, O'Neill had kept his seat and continued to sip his coffee. As the offender was escorted from the room shouting and struggling, Sheppard turned to Jack, "General, I'm so sorry. That behavior is inexcusable. Please accept my apologies for his behavior."

"No problem, John. After 20+ years in the Air Force I've acquired a fairly thick hide. It takes a lot to get under my skin and a little piss-ant like him doesn't even come close."

John sat down in the chair adjacent to Jack's, leaned in close, and said, "General, how did you keep yourself so calm?"

"I didn't need to say a word – he said all that needed to be said, and in front of witnesses, no less. Anything I could have added would just muddy the waters. He's toast."

Sheppard drew a deep breath and sighed, "This is not going to be an easy sell, General. You know it and I know it."

"Never said it would be easy, John. But we have to start somewhere and this is as good a time as any." Clasping an affirming, supportive hand on Jack's shoulder, John rose and said, "Come on, let's go hit some golf balls or something."

"Can't," Jack said, finishing his coffee and putting the mug down. "I've got to go meet with the scientists now! Daniel's been twisting my arm to hear all about some new linguist something or other – I only listen to about every 3rd word so I'm not really sure what it is. All I know is that Daniel gets excited about it, so I should probably pay attention – he's usually right about these things, whatever this is."

"You are such a good martyr for the cause, General!" John joked.

Leaning in to John, Jack whispered, "Nah, but I do love the blow jobs Daniel gives me as a reward!"

"You are a dirty, dirty old man, you know that?"

"Thank you, Sheppard, that's about the nicest compliment I've ever had! And I think it would be more correct to say a perpetually horny, dirty old man." They laughed aloud, enjoying another instance of just why they got along so well.

The calm attitude that the two projected as they walked through the Mess Hall did wonders to calm everyone's anxiety following the outburst. While he liked to play dumb, Jack knew many, many things, and one of them was how to take control of a room without appearing to do so.

Jack and Daniel exited the Mess Hall and made their way to their next meeting while John and Dayton headed back to work. Later that afternoon, Jack appeared in John's office with a look of pleading, "Please, Sheppard, hide me! I cannot take any more geek-speak, no matter how good the follow-up sex may be. I need a break."

Always looking for a reason to get out of his paperwork – after all, he was only doing it because the General was here and might want to review it – John said, "Well, we could do a jumper test flight. You know, just to make sure that the jumper systems are up to standards."

"Splendid idea. Now, quick, let's get out of here before they find me."

O'Neill and Sheppard made their way to the Jumper Bay by the shortest possible route, grabbing Sheppard's favorite jumper. Rodney always argued that the jumpers were all identical, but John felt a special connection with one in particular. They closed the hatch, did a quick pre-flight check, and took off into the early afternoon sky with the General at the controls.

Pushing the machine to its limits they shot through the sky, rapidly climbing out of the atmosphere and entering orbit around the planet. "Nice!" Jack complimented John. "I have got to get one of these for home."

"It cloaks, too!" John bragged. Even though O'Neill knew, he smiled and nodded.

"Hang on Sheppard, I'll gonna check her out." O'Neill launched forward like a shot, turning the jumper through several tight loops. Even with inertial dampeners, the passengers were aware that they were pulling some serious g's. But they were both pilots and loved the thrill of flight. "Oh, yeah, got to get me one of these."

"I'll tell Santa that you've decided what you want for Christmas next year. Now all you have to do is be a good boy until then."

"I'm always a good boy!" Jack replied. "I'm going to be especially good tonight when Daniel is giving me my 'thank you' blow job. Let me tell you, that can could suck the drive pod out of a jumper through a port hole. There is nothing like seeing him down on his knees in front of me …"

John said, "I'm sure Dr. Jackson would be embarrassed if he could hear us talking about him like that. Maybe I should cover my ears and protect his virtue.

"Virtue, my ass. Oh, and Sheppard, that's pretty nice too."

"I'm glad for your General."

Noticing how much time had passed since they took off, John suggested that they should head back. Jack reluctantly agreed, piloting them back to Atlantis base, parking the jumper exactly where they had found it earlier.

"Great idea, Colonel. Just what I needed. And your jumper passed inspection with flying colors."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. We take pride in our equipment."

"I bet you do, John, I bet you do!"

"You really are a dirty old man, you know that?"

"That's what Daniel keeps telling me. Come on, I've got plans for us for tonight."

"Plans? Should I be worried, sir?"

"When I'm around it's usually a reasonable thing to be worried."

"I'll keep that in mind, sir."

"Good man."

 

Chapter Eighteen

Later that evening Jack and Daniel hosted a small, private dinner in their quarters for John and Dayton. When the two guests of honor arrived for the evening, they were surprised to discover a dining room table set with white table cloth and candles everywhere. John could detect the gentle influences of Teyla in the abundance of candles.

Greeting their guests, Jack and Daniel offered a pre-dinner glass of wine out on the guest quarters balcony. When the wine was finished, Jack suggested that they return inside for dinner.

Taking turns serving the various courses and pouring additional wines to accompany each dish, Jack and Daniel set their guests at ease. By the time the last course was finished, four bottles of a very nice cabernet were empty and the four men gathered around the table were feeling fairly relaxed and mellow.

"That was wonderful," Dayton observed as they moved to the sofas to continue their conversation. "How in the world did you ever pull off a feast like that here on Atlantis?"

"We had a little help from some friends," Daniel explained.

"Yes, but Daniel is also one hell of a cook, let me tell you," Jack added. "You should see some of the feasts he's prepared for me over the years."

Daniel leaned into his lover and planted a kiss on his lips before leaning back to take another sip of his wine. "Should I open another bottle," he asked.

"I'm not sure I could drink anymore," John responded.

"Good food, good company, and good conversation requires good wine," Daniel explained.

"Give it up, Sheppard, with Daniel it's a losing battle. Just concede defeat and drink the wine. You know you want to."

A sneaky smile crossed his face as he said, "Well, it was a very nice wine!"

"Open another bottle, Daniel. Besides, I don't want to carry it back home with us."

Daniel opened the fifth and final bottle of the cab, poured a fresh glass for everyone, and raised his glass in a toast, "To the happy couple!"

"Here! Here!" Jack added.

They clinked glasses and John and Dayton rubbed noses with a relaxed snicker.

"So, John, Dayton, when is the big event going to take place?"

John and Dayton looked at one another before John answered for the couple: "Well, sir, we really hadn't set a date or talked about when would be good. We'll probably do something small when our schedules both give us a day off."

"Nonsense! This is a big deal, guys! Daniel, can you believe these two?"

"Jack, if this is what they want, that's their business."

"I can't believe any of you! Where is your romance, guys? Come on!" he implored. "This is your wedding!" Seeing that he was not persuading them, Jack added, "Come on, guys! This is a big deal!"

Sheppard inserted a bit of reality to the conversation, "You saw how badly some people reacted this morning when you said that there were gay men or women somewhere in Atlantis. We have to do something really small and private with just a couple of friends. I would love to broadcast the news to everyone in the city and issue invitations for everyone to attend the big event, but I know that we have to be cautious. We live our lives and love each other, but it has to be private."

"Bull!" Jack responded.

"Huh?" John countered.

"Bull! As in bullshit, Sheppard. All right, here's what we're going to do: We finish our wine, you guys go back and pack an overnight bag, we all get a good night's sleep, and tomorrow we head back to Earth and do this up right."

"We had asked Teyla to perform the wedding and Lorne and Ronon to be our best men."

"We'll take them along."

"Sir, I'm the Interim Commander of the entire base. Lorne is my number two. We can't both be gone at the same time, especially with Ronon and Teyla also out of the picture. I appreciate the thought, but …"

"All right. We'll have you back in twenty-four hours. Surely this city can survive twenty-four hours without you here? I can have Lorne back here in twelve hours if that would make you feel better."

 

TBC

**Author's Note:**

> These are not my characters. I didn't create most of them but I'm grateful to those who did. I only take them out to play because their creators aren't do anything with them at the moment. They have much joy still to give to we fans of Stargate Atlantis. This is my very first attempt at writing any sort of slash fan fiction. I had a great time writing this and I hope you enjoy reading the story. Any and all recommendations or suggestions gladly and gratefully accepted. Thanks.


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